Finding Your TEDx Stage

7 *filtering* queries for a (hopeful) TED-ster

By Devin D. Marks | Published Jun. 21, 2022

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 events, worldwide, each year. Each of those events ushered 4-20 speakers (each!) to center stage.

Do the math with me:

3,700 x 4 = 14,000

3,700 x 20 = 70,000

(again: seventy-thousand!)

Arguably that's 14-70K talks a year.

Wow.

But where are they?!

After all, TED.com highlights only about 4,300 talks; and the bulk of those are main stage "big TED" ideas worth spreading.

Yes, there are TEDx-ers mixed in there. But it is a light blend of TEDx Talks. Rarer still are those talks with 1M+ views. It is sort of like players who jump from the minor leagues to the big game. Exceedingly rare.

That's why hundreds of thousands of "mehhhh" TEDx Talks are largely laying in the cemetery of the YouTube TEDx channel.

Not to knock the dynamic TEDx community. Hundreds of amazing talks do bound onto the home page of TED each year. And many go truly viral.

But again, not all TEDx stages (run by volunteers) are created equal. From poor lighting to mehhhh speaker coaching; poor camera work to mehhhh "idea milling"... the range of reasons a talk falls short are manifold.

And so, the bulk of those many tens of thousands of new minor league talks each year languish on YouTube: Un-spread. Un-watched. Un-celebrated.

All that to say, it is important to be discerning about which TEDx stage you select. Don't just go with the local organizer or the first invitation to hit your inbox.

And that brings us back to our title question:

What are 7 tips for finding your TEDx stage?

Here’s your check-list:

1. Has the event organizer** produced one (or 3) before?

(Learning on the job or been-there, done-that?)

2. How many cameras? There should be at least 4.

(Main stage TED events roll with 9+.)

3. Will the production team market your talk?

(How? PR push, outtake footage, social media?)

4. Do they have a quality, up-to-date website?

(Details matter, so no broken links or amateur copy.)

5. What’s the team’s (baseball) talk stats?

(How many are actually featured on TED vs listed? Views?)

6. What’s the bench strength of the leadership team?

(Two people or eleven; veterans or students?)

7. What’s the quality of their best talks, to date?

(Uneven audio/lighting or the “Big TED” feel?)

There's more to it, naturally.

But these 7 filtering questions** are a great place to start.

Again, not all TEDx events are created equal. Volunteers produce mixed — stuttering to stellar — results.

Again, don’t commit to the first stage you’re invited on. Chances are, if one event producer is interested in you, others will be as well.

PS. Start here to learn more about the different types of TED and TEDx conferences.

** Now don't ask the organizers these questions. You need to suss these out online and via other means. You don't want to offend the producer with an "I'm judging you and your team" vibe. (Yes you need to make judgements, but keep them to yourself!)

DEVIN D. MARKS is known as The TED Talk Whisperer. His firm, CONNECT to COMPEL, has served 100s of TED, TEDx, and short-talk speakers — including Harvard’s Dr. Robert Waldinger for his all-time Top 10 TEDx Talk. The result: 100s of millions of views for clients. He helps niche experts, authors, and leaders spread world-changing ideas. 

You can reach Devin at 617.804.6020, or DM him here. His newsletters are here.

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