At the age of just 11, the remarkable Tristan Fontaine takes the stage with wisdom and insight that defy his young years. With a passion for making a difference in the world, Tristan fearlessly steps into the spotlight to share his thoughts on the profound impact of giving. Beyond his age, his perspective and understanding of the importance of generosity are truly awe-inspiring. As he embarked on his TED Talk journey, Tristan invites us all to join him in exploring the transformative power of giving, proving that even the youngest voices can ignite powerful change.

Unlocking the Power of Giving By Tristan Fontaine

Raise your hand if you have given today. It doesn’t have to be something big like donating $5,000 dollars to charity. It can be something simple, like opening a door for a stranger or picking someone’s pencil off the ground and giving it back. Anyone? These are just a few examples of giving. You gave by sacrificing your time for another person. Now I will ask another question. Raise your hand if you think you have not given today. If you think you have not, I will change your mind by the end of this Ted Talk. But before I do that, I will introduce myself to you. Hi, my name is Tristan Fontaine, and today I will be telling you the importance and power of giving.

For the people who have not changed their minds yet, you shouldn’t have. This is only the beginning of this Ted talk. Hopefully, by the end of this paragraph, you will start to change your mind. First, I will have you do an assignment. Close your eyes. Take 5 deep breaths and relax. Clear your mind. Now, think of a door. It can be any type, color, and wherever you want it to be. Do you have it? Now try to guess how many times you open a door each day. If you thought of the number 6, you got the answer correct. In the 6 times that you open a door, you have 6 opportunities to make someone’s day. When you hold the door for someone, you’re giving by being generous and showing gratitude. Before I made this Ted Talk, I used to think when you give it just makes you happy, but it does much more.

When you give, you are slowly improving your health. It reduces stress and blood pressure. This reduction promotes longer life and better health. When people give, they activate areas of the brain associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust creating a “warm glow” effect. Giving is also contagious. The more you give and spread your passion for giving to others, the more others will give. When you give, you can create a ripple effect that spreads positively from one person to another.

Giving can be a way of expressing gratitude, whether you’re on the giving or receiving end. This gratitude is essential to your happiness and health. For example, when you express gratitude in words and actions, you will boost other people’s positivity and your own.

I have read about a few hundred words about the subject “giving,” and this Ted Talk might have gotten repetitive or monotonous. But in this paragraph, I will try to reinsert your interest into this Ted Talk. Now, I’ll ask you a question, do you know this quote by Winston Churchill?

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

If you don’t, I have a suggestion for you. Memorize it and try to use it every day. I will probably recite the quote about two times a week. This is most likely the bare minimum, for some people, companies, and some charitable websites which practically live by it. One of those charitable websites is Giving Tuesday. In New York, ten years ago, a group of people had an idea: to make a day to encourage people to do good. Since then, it has become a global generosity movement and has impacted society positively. The website encourages people of all ages and races to donate and help benefit people in need.

I’ve been talking a lot about how giving is good for you, and let’s say you wanted to get healthier. Everyone does, right? You’ll probably need some examples of how to give better so you can be healthier. If you really want to give, you should donate blood. There isn’t a substitute for human blood. Your decision to donate blood could save one or several lives. Another way to give is by giving back to our earth. The Earth has given to us by providing a home for humans and what we do is pollute it. You can start a beach clean-up or donate to a community organization.

In this Ted talk, I have taught you lots of things about the subject “giving”. Like how giving can improve your health and benefit people in need. But this talk is coming close to the end, and I should wrap it up. When you finish hearing this talk, I only want you to do one thing. That one thing is to give. Remember how I said you can still give by not doing something big? Just do that. Giving an inspirational sticky note to someone can make their day. The more you give and spread your passion for giving to others, the more others will give. Thank you for listening.

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