All change begins with language, and the change we create is determined by the freshness and honesty with which we communicate. Cheryl Heller tells us how words can make us shallow and dumb, or smart, empathetic, creative, infectious leaders. And why words are the only power we have to change things.

Cheryl Heller is the Founding Chair of the first MFA program in Design for Social Innovation at SVA, founder of the design lab CommonWise, and winner of the prestigious AIGA Medal for her contribution to the field of design. She is a business strategist and communication designer who has taught creativity to leaders and organizations around the world, helped grow businesses from small regional enterprises to multi-billion global market leaders, launched category-redefining divisions and products, reinvigorated moribund cultures, and designed strategies for hundreds of successful entrepreneurs.

Cheryl created the Ideas that Matter program for Sappi in 1999, which has since given over $12 million to designers working for the public good. Since then, she has written for many publications on the subject of social innovation design and creativity.


This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx