I’m going to make a prediction.
Rebecca Okamoto’s TEDx talk will become one of the most watched talks of all time. She understands something that most TEDx speakers don’t…👇
Just because something is simple,
it doesn’t mean it isn’t impactful.
Most people treat TEDx talks like a legacy project.
That usually means creating a talk that expresses who they are, instead of one that serves their audience’s needs. Most common ingredients?
A big idea they want to be known for
Stories about finding their purpose and sharing their “why”
A complete showcase of their expertise
You could have forgiven Rebecca for doing the same. She’s been in the communication game for over 12 years - clearly she is a subject matter expert.
And yet, she decided to centre her talk around a concept that most people would dismiss as ‘too basic’ therefore ‘not impactful enough’. Have a watch…👇
How to introduce yourself in 20 words or less:
I help [target audience] achieve
[a benefit they desire] without [negative consequence].
Three things I want you to take from Rebecca’s strategy:
Design your talk for recommendability ♻️
If you’re planning to use a TEDx talk as a visibility tool, build it around an everyday, universal problem. Why? Because it will dramatically increase your chances of creating a viral loop.
Less is more ⏳
Less is also far more enjoyable (most people find preparing for a TEDx talk completely miserable), trying to pack so much in is a big contributing factor for this. Just because something is simple, it doesn’t mean it can’t be impactful. Her talk lasted 9 minutes; she could have taken 18, but she didn’t.Don’t listen to your ego 🙉
It will tell you that this is not the way to make the most of an opportunity like this. I cannot overstate how much courage it must have taken to go down this route.
Alex
P.s. Found this article useful? It would mean the world if you’d give us a one-liner testimonial.
MicDrop is my community for thought leaders who speak. We help our members get booked to speak without the cold calling. (See what I did there?!)
We’ll be opening our doors to new members again in March.
Click here to join the waitlist
