There’s no escaping the fact that some TEDx events are ‘better’ than others.

But not necessarily for the reasons you might think. Earlier this year, I was asked a question that took me completely by surprise…

It came from one of my Thought Leadership Accelerator cohort.

They’d applied to speak at one of the TEDx events we’d found that had put out a call for speakers and were accepted straight off the back of their application.

This is extremely unusual.

Don’t get me wrong, their application was exceptional. By this point in the accelerator, we’d poured 4 weeks of blood, sweat and tears into getting clear on the message and crafting the perfect application.

But getting through round one (a written application + short video) usually just means you’re through to the next round. No wonder it felt too good to be true.

They were right to question it.

Why? Because TEDx is a volunteer initiative.

What most people don’t understand is…

TEDx events are run by ordinary people who believe in the power of BIG ideas. They run these events…

1. In their spare time 🕰️,

2. Often with no previous event or production experience 🤪, and

3. With their own money on the line 💰.

Needless to say, it is extremely stressful.

It’s why I ran TEDxClapham for 3 events and then I stopped. With all of these pressures going on behind the scenes, it’s no wonder…

The experience and production quality of each event varies significantly.

Anyone can apply to become a TEDx organiser. You submit an application to TED and if it gets accepted, you’re given a license to run an event for up to 100 people. (TED’s damage limitation strategy - if something goes terribly wrong, at least only 100 people know about it)!

After your first event, organisers can apply for a special license to run larger events. When I was an organiser, one of the ways of doing this was to attend a TED event in person (this may have changed now). By paying ~£1500 to attend a TED event in NYC, I was suddenly qualified to run a 1000+ person event 🤔.

I share this because… 

Event size isn’t always a reliable indicator of event quality; nor is event name.

The only things that are:

1. Recordings from past events 🍿

   Always check YouTube to see how their past events went down.

2. Experience of the organising team 🧠
   The more events they’ve run, the greater the likelihood that things will go right.

That said, some events e.g. TEDxBrighton, TEDxLondon etc. have been going for so long, they’ve become household names and their set up is exceptional. They’re also the most competitive TEDx events to land so restricting yourself to one of these is going to significantly reduce your chances of becoming a TEDx speaker at all.

So as cool as it might be to speak at TEDxLondon, let’s not forget that it didn’t do Simon Sinek any harm speaking at TEDxPugetSound.

Ultimately, every TEDx talk is going to end up in the same place the TEDx YouTube channel (and the algorithm doesn’t care which event you spoke at).

This is all a rather long winded way of saying…

It is your responsibility to vet the TEDx event and the organising team.

8 Questions to ask every TEDx Organiser

Many application processes involve an ‘interview’ with one of the curators. What most people forget is that the interview should go both ways. Here are some of the questions I’d be asking:

1. Why did you decide to organise a TEDx event?
   Getting clear on their motives is a useful starting point. Listen out for things that you might be able to help them with.
   

2. What is your approach to speaker diversity and topic selection?

   TEDx events should have a line-up that reflects diverse experience and expertise. It’s important to understand where you might fit in.
   

3. What does event success look like to you?
   If great recordings doesn’t come up in their answer, that’s a red flag!
   

4. How experienced is the team in organising and producing events?
   The team should have at least one person with deep knowledge and experience.
   

5. Where are you planning to hold the event?
   [If this isn’t already clear]. Theatres typically have a solid lighting and stage infrastructure in place already.
   

6. What is your production set-up going to be?
   Number of cameras is a good indicator, as is whether they’re bringing in extra lighting.
   

7. How quickly are you hoping to release the videos post-event?
   Some events take months to release the videos. It is possible to get all the videos approved and uploaded within 4 weeks (don’t let any curator tell you otherwise!).
   

8. What are you expecting from the speakers and when?
   Most events have specific deadlines for speakers to submit their talks, attend rehearsals etc. If you’re applying to an event in a different country, check if it’s possible to attend rehearsals remotely.

On the surface of it, it might seem like you’re giving them a bit of a grilling! But actually, asking these questions shows just how seriously you’re taking the opportunity.

Every time I was on the receiving end of these questions, it made me want to land the speaker even more.

But the biggest question of all is for YOU…

How you feel about your talk recording is the single most important factor in determining the success of the talk. That is the difference between a talk that ends up in the TEDx graveyard and one that has the power to have a real impact.

When I asked this question to the person from my Thought Leadership Accelerator who’d been accepted to speak, they decided to accept the opportunity.

While the recording hasn’t come out quite as well as they’d hoped it would, it’s not going to stop them from using the talk to amplify their message.

And that’s what matters.

[No doubt the fact they’d already got some exceptional footage from speaking at the Accelerator’s Talks of our Time filming day helped too - we have 8 slots left.]

Alex