Talking TEDx with Toby Moore
Toby Moore ?? , author and?TEDxBrighton organizer, runs one of the largest TEDx events in the UK, alongside working to build better futures for young and creative people. Sophie Pink chatted to Toby about his work with TEDxBrighton, how he became involved, and what impact (our 2024 Talking Point) means to him.??
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Describe your work with TEDx and the circumstances that led to you taking it on over 10 years ago??
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My role with TEDx is not just leading and directing the team, but also curating the stories that we play back to our audience. The stories are all about the audience. We like to mirror our community and show them what they’re already?capable of, and how they step into the power they have.?
Another part of my role is challenging our speakers not to just show off how accomplished?they are, but to focus more on what’s real, usable to the audience. It’s all about enabling the audience to create their own?change.??
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How did you get into your role at TEDx?
Over 10 years ago, by complete chance. TEDx wasn’t a huge thing then and it had a niche following. Brighton being quirky and progressive had a TEDx early on. Through my work in the events industry, I was invited to take part in the early meetings to see how it came together. No one volunteered to help on the exhibition side, so I did!?
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For three years I set up conversations with charities, start-ups and projects, to come up?with exhibiting opportunities for those who wouldn’t normally be able to afford it, or have the capacity do it. This led to speaker curation too. When I took this over, I realized I wanted people to feel on a level with the speaker, to close the gap and shift the power from the speaker to the audience.??
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How do you come up with the program??
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Every year we try and capture the audience (community) from a micro local level up to a societal level. I think we’re cracking this because one of the bits of feedback we always get, is that people feel the day is overwhelmingly positive.?
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It’s a very outward process, but in reality, I go away and write a story, and then find the people who can deliver it.?
If you just look at social media and Google, you find the people who’ve put themselves out there, but if you look further afield, listen to the radio for instance, you’ll find some interesting people and not just those with the biggest following. We try and find people with a cause that they want to draw attention to, rather than something they want to promote.??
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Name the top two or three experiences you’ve learnt from TEDx??
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The first year I was the curator, I took a lot of opportunities to get on stage, to say things and to try and take more credit than I deserved. ?
As years go by, I’m trying to keep my ego in check! I now feel far less motivated?by my own ideas of success. This has allowed me to produce a better event.?
Speakers do their best work when they work as themselves. There’s a misconception that performing and playing a character is how you win and get the best applause or reaction.?
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Our Talking Point for 2024 is Impact, what does Impact mean to you??
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Change has to come from somewhere. Impact is about whether the change happened. I want to be a part of a world where everyone is involved with their ideas, where they can succeed. I want to work with people with huge visions, those changing and impacting lifetimes for many years to come. If someone doesn’t believe in change, we can’t create impact together. I see my job as bringing believability. I can’t always measure?the success of my work from outcomes— so for me it’s about, how?was I able to bring the believability to someone else’s idea.??
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Toby Moore's latest book:?MAKE IT: How to Work with Clarity, Confidence and Creativity: Amazon.co.uk: Moore, Toby: 9798427682657: Books
TEDxBrighton tickets:?TEDxBrighton - 05.04.24 - Brighton Dome