TEDxNYUShanghai November Salon

The TEDxNYUShanghai November Salon will be an opportunity for students to contemplate and reflect on the essentials and nonessential of life. Through hearing the stories and experiences of speakers, we want to challenge students to consider the world in another perspective.

 

The theme of our salon revolves around the idea of the nonessential. Nonessential is defined as something trivial or unnecessary. In our busy work and life, we often say that we should devote our limited time and energy to the most necessary things and not do "useless work." Therefore, we often turn a blind eye to the nonessential, intentionally or unintentionally. However, there's sometimes a moment in our life when we pause, slow down, and realize the essentials of the nonessential. We may find another kind of beauty in the world of something we always overlooked. We may discover a new perspective on life. We may even discover that the nonessentials are just as essential as the essentials. But is the nonessential only the overlooked details of life? Is the nonessential truly "nonessential"? In this salon, we want to focus on your story of the nonessential, of the overlooked perspectives, and thoughts on the nonessential.

 

We are planning to showcase professors from NYU Shanghai, NYU Stern, and NYU SPS who have made notable achievements in their respective fields, focusing specifically on framing of language in communication, understanding life through a nonessential mindset, and VR projects of visualization memory fragments. In addition to this showcase, we will allow the salon to be an opportunity for students to discuss and learn through question and answer sessions between talks.

 

Here is our speakers roster:

Prof. Dan Bullock

Professor Dan Bullock is assistant professor of intercultural business communication and public relations within NYU Stern School of Business and the Division of Programs in Business at New York University’s School of Professional Studies.  He also serves as a language and communications specialist/trainer at the United Nations Secretariat, training diplomats and global UN staff in New York, as well as in permanent missions situated in Europe, Africa and Asia. Dan was the director of corporate communications at a leading NYC public relations firm, and his corporate clients have included TD Bank and Pfizer. He contributes to the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Quartz/Yahoo! News, and Fast Company, where he writes about the intersection of global business communication, intercultural communication, and professional development. Dan is the co-author of the award-winning book on intercultural communication How to Communicate Effectively with Anyone, Anywhere (Career Press), which received the Axiom Business Book Award and Nautilus Book Award.

 

Prof. Raúl Sánchez

Professor Raúl Sánchez is an award-winning clinical assistant professor and the corporate program coordinator at New York University’s School of Professional Studies. He has designed and delivered global corporate communication trainings for Deloitte, Bloomberg, Anheuser-Busch, and the United Nations, as well as been a writing consultant for Barnes & Noble Press and PBS. Raúl was awarded the NYU School of Professional Studies Teaching Excellence Award and specializes in intercultural communication, linguistics, and business communication. He was also awarded the Paula Gonzales Award for his research dissertation at Oxford University, and has presented at numerous conferences, including Training Magazine and The National Society of Leadership and Success.  He contributes to the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, HuffPost, and Fast Company, where he writes about the intersection of global business communication, leadership, and intercultural communication. Raúl is the co-author of the award-winning book on intercultural communication How to Communicate Effectively with Anyone, Anywhere (Career Press), which received the Axiom Business Book Award and Nautilus Book Award.

 

Prof. Xingchen Zhang

Professor Xingchen Zhang is a Clinical Instructor at Interactive Media Art, NYU Shanghai. He was visiting researcher in the Game Lab, UCSD.  He holds a Ph.D. from Shanghai University. Xingchen’s research interests are derived from the game industry and focus on systematic game design and implementing the design perspectives in reality.  He worked in the game industry as CTO, art director, project manager, and technical artist. He has designed games and AR & VR experiences for multiple platforms.

Prof. Emily Chang

Emily is the CEO of McCann Worldgroup in China and adjunct professor for NYU SPS where she teaches Finance for Marketing Decisions. Previously, she has held executive leadership roles at iconic companies like Apple, P&G and Starbucks. And equally important, over the last two decades, Emily and her family have cared for 17 babies, kids and young people in their spare room. And it was when she defined her social legacy, that Emily realized the importance of the “nonessential mindset.”  In this TEDx Salon, Emily will share about how adopting the nonessential mindset enables us to shift from surviving to thriving. From simply doing to engaging. And from “getting through the day” to living in abundance and joy!