Speaker Malcolm Gladwell gets ready backstage.

The mics are being tested and the camera flashes are popping backstage before Chicago Ideas Week’s first Talk at the Cadillac Palace this week- Lessons: The Choice is Yours.

New York Times best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell is one of the speakers set to take the stage at the event, which starts at 7:30 p.m. He swung by about an hour and a half beforehand and signed almost hundreds of books in just under 12 minutes. The lefty and author of David and Goliath said he was excited to be at CIW 2013, because his mission and CIW’s mission were one and the same.

“CIW is just a chance for curious people to get together and share stories,” he said. “Stories are more than just entertaining. They make ideas usable and practical. They give us a context for evaluating ideas and making sense of them.”

He said he wants people to walk away from his Talk about David and Goliath being aware that we too often are passive in the face of what we assume are insurmountable odds.

“The thing about David is that he refuses to accept the battle is over, which I think is a lovely lesson for all of us,” he said.

CIW speaker Josh Kilmer-Purcell

Gladwell said he was also excited about hearing the other speakers in the lineup, which include Josh Kilmer-Purcell of The Fabulous Beekman Boys, comedian Tig Notaro, Change.org’s Ben Rattray and Devy Ventures’ Catherin Hoke.

Kilmer-Purcell said he wants people to think more broadly about the lessons they learn in life.

“Its must such a fabulous idea to have a weeklong exchange of ideas. And I’m also excited for after the event, to be able to talk to people in attendance.”

Check out the livestream at www.chicagoideas.com!