Blog | Be Yourself, Not Simon Sinek

You've likely watched a LOT of TED Talks. So names Sir Ken Robinson, Brené Brown, Simon Sinek, and my “alumni” client Dr. Robert Waldinger are familiar — or will be soon. They have tens of millions of...

Blog | The TED Talk-Style Isn't Just For Red Rugs

In the age of TED, it is time be start asking yourself, “How do I take TED-style communications tools and apply them to a…” Keynote Speech, Sales Meeting, Startup Pitch, Zoom Call, Board Meeting... Mo...

Blog | Finding Your TEDx Stage

These days, there is no more a potent platform for spreading ideas than a TED stage. The reach is staggering. Consider: In the pre-Covid "teen" years of TEDx, there were approximately 3,700+ TEDx even...

Blog | The 9 Most Horrid Words A Speaker Can Utter

That 9-word apology to an audience — whether in a boardroom, keynote, or funding pitch — smacks of amateurism. It says to the informed in your (long-suffering) audience that you are ill-prepared, ill-...

Blog | 6 Ways To Make Stories Sticky & Spread

What pops into your mind when I say the words, “Once upon a time…”? Better yet, say that out loud. (Go ahead... take a moment.) “Once upon a time …” Feel that emotional charge? That story pulse? Stori...

Blog | The #1 Reason For An Air-Ball TEDx Talk?

If you think a TED Talk is about you, your book, your coaching practice, your hopeful fantasies, your thought leadership — you're wrong. A TED Talk is about something else entirely. And when you’re on...

Blog | Don't Ask Viewers To Save Whales

I regularly tell my clients, “Don’t ask viewers to save the whales in your TED Talk." By that, I mean even if you care about endangered sharks, plastics-filled oceans, or polluted waters — asking too...

Blog | The Best TED Speakers Jettison PowerPoint

When the first TED Talks bubbled into YouTube (in 2006), they marked a turning point in how visuals accent a message. (And that was more than 15 years ago!) These days, a deck isn’t the default. And s...

Blog | 2 Critical TEDster Tips To Hone Your Message

TED Talks are laboriously focused for a number of reasons. The most obvious is the countdown click. It is a harsh taskmaster. TED innovated in the conference space decades ago by incorporating a "smok...

Blog | Finding A Sherpa For Your TED Talk Summit

As one of the world's leading TED Talk coaches, a Sherpa, with clients enjoying tens-of-millions of views and record-shattering talks... I'm often asked in interviews what I love about my work. “Devin...

Blog | The Hidden Story Keys Of Simon Sinek's Greatest Talk

If you recall, Simon Sinek’s uber-popular TEDx Talk (How great leaders inspire action) applied the "Golden Circle" to several historic problems. He called his How-What-Why takeaway “inside-out communi...

Blog | 8 Tips To Move Beyond Imposter Syndrome

Surprisingly (or not), high-performers invited to become TED speakers regularly battle . In my years working with the best-of-the-best, I’ve been struck by the consistency of... self-doubt. Big ideas...

Blog | 5 Tools For Finding Your Ideal Event

Many hopeful TEDsters become TEDx speakers because they aren’t invited to a TED main-stage event (TED Global, TEDSummit, TEDWoman, etc.). They pivot to pursue the open-sourced, volunteer-led, and thus...

Blog | TED Talks Are Presents To Viewers

I like to say your big idea worth spreading should be connecting, colorful, and compelling. You should wrap your idea in a story (i.e., story-wrap your “present-ation”) before stepping to your TED Tal...

Blog | Top TED Speakers Dance Like Dazzling Grandparents At A Wedding

In most speaking events, the TEDsters are using a memorized speech. But like those captivating dancers — they’re flowing. Polished. Elegant. Even playful. They’ve been dazzling watchers at the country...

Blog | The 3 Forms of Story

Story design. It is a bit more complicated than most of us initially think. After all, there’s the story we hear, in the moment. And then... (Well wait.) Let's break this down visually.

Blog | 3 Keys To A Textured Story

Recall being read to as a child? Whether at home on Christmas Eve with a favorite grandparent or during grade school storytime, those warm memories are with us. The coziness of snuggling in for a full...

Blog | The 10 Commandments Of TED

Delivering a successful TED Talk involves a multitude of steps and strategies. But it all begins (and can end) with ten clear instructions from on high. Referred to as The Ten Commandments of TED, the...

Blog | A Navy SEAL Approach To Back Stage Jitters

Navy SEALs love this **fast-focus** technique. My best TED speakers do too. It is variously called Box Breathing, 4x4x4 Breathing, or Square Breathing because there are four parts of the practice. Wha...

Blog | What's Your TED Talk Target?

Prospective clients approach me all the time with varying interpretations of success: "I want to go viral" or "I want to sell my consulting services" or "I want... I want... I want... I want... I want...

Blog | Your Path To TED-Ready Big Ideas

You see the advertisements. You know the promises. Give a viral TED Talk. Get millions of views. Idea Spreading. Yadda-yadda. Sure “viral” happens (on rare occasions). But the counterpoint is this pai...

Blog | The Retellability Factor in Storytelling

What will the story of the story be? Whenever you’re shaping a story, it pays to anticipate the other forms it will take in the retelling. I call this distilling for Generational Clarity. KNOW THIS: T...

Blog | 7 Starter Steps For A Chance At Viral

Sure viral** talks happen (on rare occasions). But the counterpoint is this painful reality:
The majority of TEDx Talks are “mehhhh to maybe” deliveries. They missed the mark. BY A LOT. In fact, most...

Blog | Why You Shouldn't Write A Book First

Recently a connection mentioned he was working on a book, a course, and a he wanted a TED Talk. My answer: Hold on! Before you dive in headfirst, consider 3 guidelines...

Blog | "I got this," Said The Hopeful TEDster

The self-sabataging “I got this” attitude of VIP speakers misses the heavy lift that is a TED stage. The intensity of the “red dot” is unlike any other speaking opportunity a leader has stepped to bef...

Blog | Zombie Keynotes vs The TED-Style

In the eerie world of public speaking, it's best to battle the living dead and keep Zombie Keynotes buried. The TED-Style sent 40-minute lectures to the graveyard of YouTube, long ago. Today, most tra...

Blog | The Pattern, Psychology & Power Behind The Rule of 3

The Rule of 3 stands as a timeless and powerful principle. Applied throughout history, it saturates our culture. Whether you are telling a story, designing a marketing campaign, or crafting a speech,...

Blog | 3 Keys To Ignite Action Through Story

IGNITING is the second part of the STICKY Story framework. To ensure that our stories are designed to lean forward in an action-igniting posture, there are 3 factors to consider.

Blog | The TEDster Approach to Fivefold Focus

The craftsmanship of fivefold ties parallels the focusing layers of the best TED Talks. The two share meticulous attention to detail, seamless construction, and subtle appeal. In talks and ties, fivef...

Blog | Another 10 TED Talk Commandments

Delivering a successful TED Talk involves a multitude of steps and strategies. But it all begins (and can end) with clear instructions from on high. But there are more. So without flourish, here are T...

Blog | From Mehhh To Memorable

When thinking about a keynote or all-hands presentation, few of us anticipate a flat, “Mehhhh” delivery. Right?? We imagine smiles, high-fives and even a standing ovation!
But as we know, a lot can ge...

Blog | The Humor Buffet

Using humor is tied to reading the response of your audience is an important skill. And pairing that ability with (seemingly) off-the-cuff humor is a practiced art. If they’re laughing, it is great to...

Blog | 5 *Critical* PowerPoint Laws Top TEDsters Use

These PowerPoint laws worked for my client with 49-million views on TED. It is an all-time TOP 10 TED Talk. And guess what...? While Dr. Robert Waldinger shared Harvard research from an enormous data...

Blog | The New Public Speaking Toolbox

TED forever changed how we spread ideas from stage and screen. In discovery calls with potential clients, I regularly reference 3 ways that TED Talks have improved the public speaking toolbox: (1) CUS...

Blog | 5 Ways To Overcome The #1 TEDx Blunder

What's the most common TEDx mistake that hopeful speakers make? (Settling for the 1st opportunity that comes your way.) Not all TEDx events are created equal. Fact is that many, many event organizers...

Blog | 3 Top TED Talk Prep Books

People ask me all the time, what book do you recommend to prep for my TED Talk? Frankly, there’s not one. There are three. No one book, alone, really offers the full TED and TEDx picture. But these th...

Blog | Instantly Connect With An Audience: 6 Steps

Connecting with your audience — whether for a keynote, pitch, or TED Talk — is an art that every speaker aims to master. To help you achieve this, here are 6 essential tips from top TED Talk speakers...

Blog | 3 Keys To Dynamic Vocal Variation

On a TED stage, an animated conversational voice can make all the difference between a talk that merely informs and one that compels. A study by Julia Hirschberg and Andrew Rosenberg, published in Spe...

Blog | Considerations For Hopeful TED Speakers: The 4 B's

Whenever I’m evaluating someone’s readiness for a TED Talk (or a major keynote), I use a mental checklist. I call them “the Four B’s.” Over the years, I’ve learned that these are essential commitments...

Blog | Steve Jobs’ Method for Polishing Ideas from “Good” to TED-Worthy

Steve Jobs’ childhood memory about rocks and good ideas resonates with me, in the context of top-tier TED Talks. In an interview, he once shared a story involving a rock tumbler. He saw it as an analo...

Blog | It's Not (always) About The Numbers

While talks with one million views (or more) is my specialty, there must be more THERE there.
"Viral" cannot be the end-goal — at least not for my team. Sure, 100K views (the official measure of “vira...

Blog | A Proven Method For TED-Style Messaging

TED Talks have forever redefined public speaking — how we share and spread ideas on stage and screen. At the heart of this phenomenon is a distinct speaker prep approach that I’ve coined The Maximized...

Blog | Deconstructing A 49-Million View Talk

"What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness" is approaching 50M views — a milestone likely to be passed by year's end. To understand it all, would require a MasterClass in TED...

Blog | What TED Speakers Can Learn From Cirque du Soleil

When a Cirque performer steps on stage, they aren’t simply recalling choreography. They are living the performance: deeply connected to the moment and effortlessly adapting to the energy in the room....

Blog | 5 Ways to Leverage Humor in TED Talks

Humor is a power tool for diminishing defenses and creating connection. This blog entry shares 5 top TED Talk best practices related to the use of humor.

Blog | Unveiling the 6 Shapes of Story

From ancient myths to modern blockbusters, stories have the power to connect with and compel audiences. But beneath the surface of every narrative lies a hidden structure — a design that gives shape t...

Blog | 3 Common TED Talk no-No-NOs

Gearing up for a TEDx Talk? Before you take the stage, beware of these three common pitfalls that can derail your presentation.