206 Days.

That's how long it took Greta to go from being an unknown schoolgirl, campaigning about the climate crisis, to one of the most influential young people in the world, and being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Greta's story is a blueprint for activists and purpose-driven storytellers everywhere.

That's the power of one person, with the right message, in the right environment, speaking to people who want to change, at exactly the right time.

There's a word for this, and speechwriters like me use it all the time- "KAIROS". It is an ancient Greek word for time which I have heard translated as "a supreme moment at which one simply must act - no matter how implausible or inconvenient."

If you're in the purpose-driven storytelling business, you need to make kairos your BFF.

When Greta Thunberg gave her first TEDx talk in Stockholm, she didn’t command the stage with sweeping gestures. She didn’t vary her tone with any theatrical flair. She was nervous and anxious. She stood still. Her voice was quiet. Her delivery was flat, almost monotone. And by every traditional public speaking rulebook, she broke all the “should’s.”

But what she said moved the world.

Greta never showed up to entertain.

She showed up to tell the truth.

Her TEDx talk was far from polished. But it was pure.

It wasn’t performative. It was purposeful.

She didn’t try to be engaging. She tried to be heard.

And she was. By millions.

Greta’s story reminds us that powerful communication doesn’t require charisma, confidence, or perfect posture. It requires courage.

You don’t need to be loud to be listened to.

You don’t need to be smooth to be sincere.

You just need to mean it.

So if you’ve ever felt too awkward, too anxious, too introverted—or simply too different—to speak up, remember Greta. Her voice have never followed the rules. It rewrote them. 💚🌍

⬇️

If you'd like to hear more - I recorded a short podcast about Greta, where I take you behind the scenes of her story in just 12 minutes.