Learning to Give a TED Talk

I love TED Talks. I was introduced to TED Talks a few years ago, and have subscribed to the podcasts ever since. I love the variety of topics that they cover, love hearing new ideas, and love being inspired. TED Talks are all about “Ideas worth spreading”, and I hope someday to have an idea great enough to be worth spreading.

This past December I attended the one-day TEDx San Diego event and it was amazing. Being there and hearing the ideas and feeling the energy of the speakers and the attendees solidified in my mind that one day I wanted to give a TED Talk. (More on my blog TEDx San Diego.)

I’m not sure what I want my TED Talk to be about yet, but I’m hoping that as I grow and learn and mature, that I do something or learn something great enough to be worth sharing. I’ve spoken in front of groups of 50-200 people several times before, and while I think I’ve done a good job, I get horribly nervous and in general I really don’t  enjoy public speaking. Giving my TED Talk someday would hopefully mean that I’ve gotten past this aversion enough to feel that I could deliver a speech to hundreds with confidence.

Checking In For The Event

I discovered a few weeks ago that there was another TEDx in the area called TEDxAFC. (San Diego’s nickname is America’s Finest City or AFC for short.) There are actually several other TEDx events in San Diego county including TEDx Del Mar, TEDx Hillcrest, and TEDx Mission Valley. Wow, there are a lot of ideas floating around San Diego.  TEDxAFC is usually held in May of the year, but I noticed that they were holding a “Speaker Bootcamp” in February that was open to the public and free, and I instantly signed up!

One of the Five Speakers Talking About "Doodle Art"

Event Description:
Free 2 hour speaker bootcamp from past local TED speakers and current TEDx organizers from around Southern California followed by our TEDxAmericasFinestCitySalon and Launch Party. If you're interested in knowing more about the TED and TEDx  programs, this opportunity is open to everyone.  Our hosts will be going over all the details. You don't have to be a speaker to attend, but if you have a talk or want to give a talk... this event is for you. 

Captivated by the Bootcamp Leaders

(Photos Courtesy of TEDxAFC)

A few days before the event though I received an email stating that they were looking for speakers to practice giving a 3-6 minute TED Talk. They were going to call on people from the crowd, and the email said “If you don’t have a talk, write one”. Oh no! I wasn’t ready to give a talk! What would I even talk about? I considered canceling my ticket and not going all together, but in the end I decided to write a talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while.  Its not anything ground breaking and I feel it pales in comparison to the speeches about scientific  breakthroughs, cultural phenomenas, and social movements. But, here is the talk I wrote for this event titled “A Woman’s Struggle – Standing Out Versus Blending In”.

(Note: The video is only six minutes, not sure why it keeps playing for seven.)

I didn’t end up being called on and only five of the eighty attendees actually were. These were five picked from a group of about twenty who raised their hand and said that they were ready to give a talk that day, several of whom had even prepared slides.  The five talks were all pretty interesting, and two of them seemed to be good enough to make it on stage for an event that day.  Prior to the five speakers going up for critique, the two men leading the bootcamp (both of whom have given multiple TED Talks themselves) talked about what it is that makes a TED Talk special, how it is different from a regular presentation, and they gave us specific pointers to make our talks special.  Some key points that I wrote down were:

• Inspiration makes a TED Talk special
• A TED Talk isn’t a presentation, it’s a performance
• It’s not what the person says, its how it makes you feel
• A TED Talk is all about storytelling
• When speaking make eye contact, speak slowly, and move around on the stage
• “Communication is the transfer of emotion” – Seth Godin

After leaving this event I decide that I wanted to get involved with helping behind the scenes of a TED event. I’m not sure if I can help out with TEDxAFC or TEDx San Diego, but hopefully there’s a way I can contribute in the next year. I met someone who is on the planning committee for TEDX San Diego at this event and reached out to her via LinkedIn this past week. Hopefully she can connect with a group that needs volunteers, and who knows, this may be just the first of many blogs about TED for the coming year!

-