The 17+ TED Formats You Should Know

By Bilyana Georgieva, TEDx Coach, Digital Nerd and Multi-Award Winning Professional Speaker, founder of The 'Red Dot Speaker Star' (formerly 'Soon-To-Be a TEDx Speaker') Program.

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Did you know that there are more than 17 TED formats?

TED and TEDx are only 2 of them.

You may now thinking

'Great! But WHY should I know that?'

Put aside that you will learn something new today,

If you are planning to become a TED or TEDx speaker and you apply to the wrong format you will most probably be rejected, because the format you filled the form for is not for your topic or audience

So pay attention to the different formats and apply to the one that is relevant for you, your topic and your audience only

1.TED Conferences

They happen once a year in Vancouver, British Columbia.

To kill the false beliefs I'll tell you that there is no such rule you have to be famous in order to apply to be on TED stage. It helps a lot if you did something outstanding or simply your topic is innovative, influential and a huge WOW!

You can apply directly or nominate someone you believe should be on TED stage from HERE

The last conference was April 10th - 14th 2022 and had more than 50 speakers on stage. The next one is April 17-21, 2023 and as always is in Vancouver, Canada. The topic will be 'Possibility'

2. TEDGlobal

That's more of an internationally oriented sister conference of TED Conferences, that celebrates human ingenuity. The last one was in 2017. It's an occasional deep-dive conference and I couldn't find info when the next one will be.

3. TED Fellows

For every TED and TED Global conference about 20 Fellows are selected to be mentored by Senior Fellows and give a talk on a TED Fellows stage which is part of the annual TED Conference in Vancouver.

The 20 TED Fellows in the 2022 class were selected from 14 countries and 5 continents.

???? Meet the 2022 TED Fellow class and don't be afraid to find them on social media and have a chat with them.

If your dream is the big TED stage I would recommend you to apply for a TED Fellow from HERE

Application process usually opens right after the TED conference, i.e. 15 April 2022 and closes in June

What does it mean to be a TED Fellow?

Once selected, TED Fellows goes through a 12 months transformation program that includes:

• public speaking training and feedback from TED’s expert coaches on how to hone, express and communicate work and ideas
• public relations guidance and media training,
• professional coaching,
• career coaching,
• educational programming and
• being part of a global community of more than 500 emerging and established peers and industry leaders.

You can read more about how the TED Fellow program works HERE

4. TEDWomen

A 3-day conference featuring women-oriented themes

The last one was December 1-3, 2021 in Palm Springs, CA, on the topic of "What now?"

Many people mix TEDWomen with TEDxWomen. The TEDWomen is the 3-day conference, where TEDxWomen follows the same rules as TEDx (see below).

Also, I know it's obvious, but I will say it anyway .. If you are man don't apply for TEDWomen or TEDxWomen. You will most probably be rejected, unless your topic is women-oriented.

5. TEDSummit & 6. TED Countdown Summit

Both formats are a 4 days conference happening outside the TED flagship conference and on a different from Vancouver location.

The last TEDSummit was in July 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland and the last TED Countdown Summit was in Edinburgh, Scotland, October 12-15, 2021 - 4 days of inspiring talks and commitments to climate solutions for industry leaders right before the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26). The next TEDSummit and TED Countdown Summit are not yet announced.

7. TEDMonterey

This is a four-day, uniquely intimate conference that focuses on how we can build a brighter future for everyone. It heads back to the TED roots, in the place where it all began: Monterey, California. The last TEDMonterey was Aug 2021 and currently there is no info when the next one will be

8. TED Salons

TED Salons welcome an intimate audience for an afternoon or evening of highly-curated TED Talks revolving around a globally relevant theme. It's a condensed version of a TED flagship conference, they are distinct in their brevity, opportunities for conversation, and heightened interaction between the speaker and audience.

Many TED Salon events take place at the TED World Theater in New York City. All Salons are free to attend.

9. TEDx

The only independent events, organised by anyone who obtains a free license from TED, and agrees to follow the TEDx principles and rules.

Most probably you have at least 4-5 TEDx events happening in your city every month and each event host about 10 speakers. So that's about 40-50 TEDx speakers slots per month, somewhere around you.

When the Licence holders apply for permission they chose the format of their TEDx event. They are allowed to do a TEDx version of the TED conferences formats, e.g. TEDxWomen, TEDxCountdown, TEDxSalon, TEDxYouth, TEDxLive, etc.

To apply and become a TEDx speaker you need to find your local organiser and go through their application process on their own website. The TED website will only list the nearest to you TEDx event and tell you generic info who is the licence holder. You cannot apply from the ted.com website and also you cannot buy a ticket to attend to a TEDx event around you. All that is on the independently organised TEDx event's website.

To find your nearest TEDx organiser and their website go to https://www.ted.com/tedx/events?>> Type your city and year >> Find your local TEDx organisers, their website and social media profiles, and apply to them directly

10. TED-Ed

TED-Ed is a program with a dedicated YouTube channel for short animated educational videos. Think about high-quality lessons taught by exceptional educators, classroom teachers and experts in a certain subject area. Now add visualisation artists who developed the animations in a super engaging way. That is TED-Ed. It's one of my favourite TED formats!

And .. my favourite TED-Ed talk is "Imagine if..."? by Sir Ken Robinson

Check them out if that's the first time you heard of TED-Ed. Write in the comments bellow which TED-Ed video is your favourite one

The people published under TED-Ed are not called speakers but educators. If you think you are one of them or know someone that should be featured apply HERE

11. TEDYouth

TEDYouth is a day-long event for middle and high school students and youth innovators, with live speakers, hands-on activities and great conversations. Young scientists, designers, technologists, explorers, artists and performers share short talks, to give knowledge and inspiration for youths around the globe.

Currently there is no upcoming TEDYouth event. The last one was in New York, Nov 2015

12. TED-Ed Weekend

Is a youth conference that brings together student leaders from around the world for a chance to take over TED Headquarters in New York City. The audience is about 35 groups of student representatives from their school or organisation and is about 150 students overall. These students participate in the TED-Ed Student Talk program in their communities, with 24 countries represented at this event alone.

The last one was Feb 2020 If your kids are inspired to be speakers ask them to contact [email protected] and apply for the next conference.

13. TED Interview

A weekly podcast, on which Chris Anderson holds conversations with speakers who have previously given a TED talk

14. TEDFest

This event is exclusively programmed for the entire TEDx community. Primary licensees, co-organisers and official team members of TEDx events can apply to attend TEDFest so they qualify for 100+ attendees TEDx license. It's an opportunity to meet TEDxers from around the world while watching the live-hosted TED program in New York City.

There are also TED Books, TEDEd Clubs, TED Radio, and so on

and last but not least ... TED is not just a conference giving opportunity for people to stand on stage and share their ideas. The team also has

The Audacious Project

It's a new model to inspire change. Every year the Audacious community selects, nurture, and launch a group of big, bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges.

This past year, the community has come together to catalyse more than $900 million for nine bold projects. Read about them HERE?

Is your head spinning? You thought there are only TED and TEDx?

Comment below which TED formats you heard for first time and if the above gave you clarity on what TED and TEDx format you should apply to

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Sending you love and energy!

Yours,

Bilyana