Ep94 Transcript: 3 Tips to Getting a TedX Talk – Quick Fix Friday

Would you like to give a TEDx talk but aren’t sure where to start? In today’s episode of Quick Fix Friday, I’m going to give you three tips to getting your own TEDx talk.

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In episode 92, I talked to my friend Heather Lutze, who gave her own TEDx talk in Denver, called In a Crazy World, Show Me Some Grace. And it was really diving into the fact that her dog, Gracie, was a support animal for her bipolar disorder. And she talked about what that meant. And talked about how people can react and things like that.

So you might be thinking, I would love to give a TEDx talk to shine a light on what I’m passionate about or something about my business. And there can be some fit pitfalls to getting a TEDx talk.

One of the things you might not realize is that it takes a long time. Occasionally they are booked out over a year in advance, sometimes longer, depending on the location. So you really do have to start early and start your plan.

Another thing to consider is that it’s not going to magically fix your business. Yes, Heather’s TEDx talk has had over 70,000 views on YouTube, which is amazing, but it’s not like it has made a giant influx of clients coming to her out of thin air. You still have to do some things to leverage that. You still have to consider how you’re going to use that piece of media in your business.

Now, I’ve talked to a few people who have gotten TEDx talks and gotten a few tips. I will also have some handy links in the show notes.

So tip number one for getting your TEDx talk is really to have a great title and description. Really flesh that out because what the organizers are looking for is something that will hook people in with the title, but also go into a unique perspective in the description. You want to communicate, the authenticity, the research you’ve done, the unique angle you have on this. And they want something that really does come from a science-based backing.

You may also consider the fact that many TEDx events have themes to them, so you want to plug into the theme and really make sure that you know what they’re trying to do with their event.

Tip number two is to take a look at the events in different areas and see where you might want to apply locally. You can apply online on the main TED site, but I think you have a better chance of getting in with a local event. And so what you want to do is research the events that are happening locally or maybe look at where you might want to go to speak if you have a tie into that area and see what kind of cadence those events have. So if they’ve just recently had an event last month, for example, you might figure that they will have an event a year from now. So you can look at the TED site and see what kinds of cadence they might have for these events.

Tip number three is to really make sure you connect with the local organizer. That’s super important so that you can get to know them. You could ask them what they might be looking for and really have a little bit more of a connection when you submit that application, because sometimes they do have a different submittal process for these local events.

And then a bonus tip is to not get discouraged. It takes multiple times oftentimes to get into a TEDx event. And so just keep watching, just keep that connection open with that organizer. Think about ways that you can showcase your topic in a short way. Maybe it’s you give a short little quick three minute synopsis on your own or start honing your craft of that speech so that you can submit that commercial along with your formal submission.

Speaking at a TEDx event can be an amazing experience, especially when the audience is really rooting for you and you’ve got that great tape and you can use it in multiple different ways. So if you are looking to speak at a TEDx event, don’t give up.

And you may even consider something like hiring a coach or something like that who is more experienced at getting you into events like this.

So good luck out there and keep plugging away.

Hope that was helpful, and make sure you grab the free guide Top Tools for Late Starters on the website at latestartersclub.com and let’s turn dreaming into doing.