“How do you get a TEDx Talk?”

“How do you prepare for a TEDx Talk?”

Those must be two of the most common questions for anyone who wants to build a personal brand and the answers to those two questions are interwined…

If you’re an entrepreneur, freelancer, business person that wants a personal brand outside of work or anyone who wants to take the stage in your professional life you probably have thought about giving a TEDx talk. It can be the launchpad to a new career and notoriety in the business world.

IF you can get onto a TEDx stage.

TED has strict rules for their independent community organizers. From a big NO! to anyone pitching a product to stringent guidelines for what actually is “an Idea Worth Spreading”. While there are a lot of books about giving TED talks and other speeches, the answers you need are a LOT closer and more accessible than you think.

IF you know where to look.

BEFORE YOU START LOOKING

The idea to write this came to me while attending a recent Toastmasters “TED Talk Idea Pitch” event. During the Q&A session one of the speakers hit on the MOST important part of a TEDx Talk: Pick something you’re PASSIONATE about and that involves a PURPOSE greater than yourself. He shared his passion for preventing teen suicide and stories of his volunteer efforts in call centers.

If you’re main purpose for giving a TEDx talk is to get famous, you might want to reconsider. If your purpose is to share an idea that can change lives, read on.

3 PLACES TO LOOK AND WHAT TO DO

I love public speaking and I’m grateful to have worked with a lot of authors in a variety of roles. Because of that work, I’ve geeked out learning about TEDx and spoken with almost 100 TEDx speakers and organizers over the years. That’s why I’m writing this, to share what I KNOW works and hopfully it will help you too.

Instead of just books get REAL WORLD experiential advice from a VARIETY of people. Here we go…

  1. WHERE?

LOCAL! The topics are picked by local organizers each year. Therefore, the topics in NY can vary greatly from Chicago which can vary greatly from LA. And so on.

  1. WHO?

REACH OUT! To:

  1. Past successful TEDx speakers
  2. Past AND current TEDx Organizers.

If you’re going to give a pitch for a talk get advice from the people in your communities that have already been-there-and-done-that.

When you reach out to them be sure to let them know that you’d like to schedule a short call, maybe 15-20 minutes. While in person meetings are great, they’re a time commitment and can be hard to schedule.

Here’s the secret sauce that most people miss when asking for advice:

Be sure to let them know that you also want to create an opportunity to help THEM instead of just getting help FROM them. How can you do that?

  1. Past successful TEDx speakers: Ask them what kind of speaking gigs they want and what target audiences they LOVE to talk to. Even if you only have one phone call with them you can pass their video along to connections in the speaking world. You’re not “vouching” for them – let your connections watch the video and decide whether or not to bring them in for a gig.
  2. Past AND current TEDx Organizers: Ask them what kind of SPEAKERS and TOPICS they’re looking to get at their events. Almost every organizer I’ve spoke with has had an outlier they were searching for. Someone to talk about science. The environment. History. And so on through the rest of the non-usual-suspect topics.

Now, this is the most important part…

  1. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?

When you connect with them: ASK GREAT QUESTIONS! You could sit in a room with Richard Branson or Mark Zuckerberg for 2 hours and, without the right questions, waste both of your time.

Here’s the-usual-suspect question that’s too broad: “How do I get a TEDx Talk?”. There’s too many possible answers for a short call.

Here are some examples of BETTER questions:

For past speakers:

  • What is the biggest mistake you made while preparing for your talk that you didn’t realize until AFTER your talk?
  • What were the TWO most important habits or strategies you acted upon to prepare?
  • How did you get and KEEP the attention of your TEDx organizer to get a spot on stage?

For past and current organizers:

  • What is the WORST* talk you’ve seen on your stage and why? *Notee: Be sure to tell them you don’t want a name or specific title of the talk. You’re looking for mechanics and speaking mistakes, not for a way to embarrass somebody.
  • What is the best, GRAND SLAM talk that you’ve seen on your stage? What did that person do so differently while preparing and while on stage?
  • What is the ONE most important factor you look for to qualify an “Idea Worth Spreading?

GO FORTH, NETWORK AND CREATE MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOURSELF!

You’ve got a clear plan for outreach and specific ways to go about it. You can pick up the phone and call someone, search LinkedIn or ask a friend for an introduction.

What tips do YOU have to share or have YOU heard regarding getting on a TEDx stage?