It's Not (always) About The Numbers
The surprising impact of a little-seen ted Talk
By Devin D. Marks | Published Feb. 20, 2025
“I want my TEDx to go viral!”
Whenever I hear that entreaty, my antenna twitch.
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 “viral”) may be a win. But in the land of TED, there are 6 *other* equally valid definitions of success worth considering.
For example, instead of mega-views, the goal may be an invitation to “sit at the table.”
One of my favorite “alumni” clients (Joe Kerns-Goodwin) didn't want millions of views — that's the domain of his mother. If Doris** sneezes on X-Twitter, 1M+ is almost guaranteed.
Sure, Joe wanted his idea to spread. But what he really hoped for from the talk was to be invited to the public policy table — to weigh in on the topic of national service.
His talk was basically a call for the draft — a tough sell. Obligatory service by America’s youth isn’t going to blow up TikTok for many 18 year olds.
Joe’s TEDx released in 2015. But even today, it hovers at a mere 9K views or so. Yet the handful of folks who watched and shared his talk early on were *the* people he most wanted to reach.
His wins included:
✔ Invited by Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign to weigh in on her youth service platform.
✔ Invited by Gen. Stanley McChrystal to serve his nonprofit's board as a spokesperson.
✔ Invited by The Aspen Institute — arguably a competitor of TED — to have his talk featured on their blog and email list.
✔ Invited by a Boston Globe reporter to weigh in on a public policy series of articles.
✔ Invited to keynote a veteran support organization’s gala fundraiser.
In the end, the *impact* of his talk was worth far more than a high view count.
So the next time you dream of going viral from a TEDx stage, consider instead the real, deeper purpose. Pursue that success.
Go for impact!
** I wasn’t involved in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 2M+ view, 2008 TED Talk.
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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