The 20 Questions Everyone Asks About TEDx

By Bilyana Georgieva, Public Speaking Coach, Multi-Award Winning Professional Speaker, Digital and Social Media Nerd, and founder of the 'Red Dot Speaker Star' coaching program, podcast and weekly newsletter.

This 'Red Dot Speaker Star' newsletter gives you tips, tricks and hacks for your successful TEDx Journey. Make sure you follow me on LinkedIn and click the????button on my profile to be notified when I share them.

There are 20 questions people frequently ask on Google and all search platforms. Here are all of them with a short answer:

1. Can anyone talk at TED and TEDx?

Yes! There is no limitation who can get on stage

2. What TED stands for & What TED means?

TED is abbreviation that stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. It's a conference, where people present their 'ideas worth spreading'.

".. your idea can be new or surprising, or challenge a belief your audience already has. Or it can be a great basic idea with a compelling new argument behind it. An idea isn’t just a story or a list of facts. A good idea takes evidence or observations and draws a larger conclusion." (source: TEDx Speaker Guide )

3. What is the difference between TED and TEDx?

TED is the main conference, held annually in Vancouver, Canada and is usually 5 days in April with 60-80 speakers

TEDx Talks are TED-like events that are organized locally by volunteers around the world. There are more than 3,500 TEDx events globally. Each TEDx license holder organise usually one event per year.

4. How many types of TED talks are there?

There are more than 17 formats of TED and TEDx events: TED, TEDWomen, TEDxWomen, TEDYouth, TEDxYouth, TED Salon, TED Countdown, etc.

Click HERE to learn for each of them

5. How to get on TED and TEDx / How do I contact TEDx organizers?

There are 3 steps to apply to TED and 5 steps to find a TEDx organiser and apply to be a TEDx speaker. Click HERE to learn how to do both

6. Where is TEDx located? / Where are TEDx Talks held?

TEDx are located everywhere around the world. Check out https://www.ted.com/tedx/events by typing the name of the city you live in in box 'Location'

7. Do I need to pay to TEDx organisers to be on TEDx stage?

No, no one pays to get on TEDx stage

8. Will I get paid as a TEDx speaker?

No, TEDx don't pay speakers to be on their stage

9. Can anyone post a TED or TEDx talk?

No, only TED and TEDx organisers can upload TED and TEDx talks on their website www.ted.com , their TED mobile app, the TED YouTube and TEDx YouTube channels. There are about 50 platforms where TED and TEDx talks can be found.

10. Why are TED talks 18 minutes?

Because it works. It is enough time to explain an idea and keep the attention of the audience

11. What can I talk about?

There is a restriction on content and topics! Check out the 4 guidelines that explain what is not allowed to talk about on TEDx stage HERE

12. How to start a TED or TEDx speech?

You can start by asking a question or making a bold statement, or directly putting us, the audience, in your story. It's up to you. Check out the TEDx Speaker Guide HERE ?and use all your public speaking skills

13. Do TED and TEDx Talk speakers use teleprompters?

TED presenters typically don't use teleprompter or notes, but the organisers do offer "confidence monitors" at the feet of speakers. These allow the person to glance down to see slides or notes without turning around to the screen to see what's on

TEDx organisers usually don't offer teleprompters but even they do I would not recommend you using them and read your entire speech from the screen. It gives the impression to the audience that you are not prepared and don't know what you are talking about.

14. How do TED and TEDx Talk speakers remember their talks?

They write a script and practise to memorise it

15. Can I use slides in my TEDx Talk?

That depends on your TEDx organiser if they have the technical availability, however I would not recommend you use slides. This is not a business meeting or a slide reading conference. Be natural. Slide drive attention away from you.

16. How do I make my TED talk go viral? / How can I get more views once my TEDx Talk is published?

If I need to give a short answer to this question that would be to use all your networks and people who know you, like you and trust you. I've got 52 strategies to diffuse a TEDx talk and get loads of views. Some of those strategies I shared on my YouTube channel

17. Can TEDx make me famous?

Yes! Simon Sinek, Brene Brown, Amy Cuddy, Susan Cain, Jill Bolte Taylor .. they all became famous around the world because of their TEDx talks. Most did a TEDx talk before they were invited to speak on the TED flagship conference.

18. How important is the number of views for my TEDx talk?

People got obsessed with the number of views of their talks. The truth is that even a talk with below 1,000 views can bring you loads of calls of the people you inspired, many invitations to speak on other stages and even an award.. I've seen it all.

Remember one thing from me - you never know who watched you and whose life you changed forever.

19. Where can I find my TEDx talk once is published?

You can find it on the TEDx YouTube channel, on www.ted.com , Netflix, Spotify, etc. There are about 50 platforms, as per Wikipedia but I never found the extended list of all of them.

20. Can I put my TEDx talk on my website?

Yes, only if you share the URL YouTube link to your TEDx talk. You will not get a copy of the original video, so make sure you use the YouTube link, not the ted.com link.

It is good for you to know that the TED platform shows a total amount of views from all platforms but will not 'promote' your talk. Whereas YouTube promotes every video that people show interest in, i.e. the more people you take to your YouTube video the more YouTube will like it and show it to complete strangers so you can reach more people.

SHARE?this article with everyone who will benefit from knowing the answers to those questions.

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Note that from January 1st, 2023 I will start publishing this article once a month, instead of weekly. Keep an eye on the next one to learn why.

Sending you love and energy!

Yours,

Bilyana

#TEDxtrainer #tedxtips #speakers