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How to choose a topic for a TED Talk or book

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Whether a book, speech, or TEDx talk, “what is it about?” is the first question to answer. Before you write an outline, choose a title, or plan your marketing strategy, you need to choose a topic.

If you’re doing talks every week for your Toastmasters club, there’s really no reason to put a ton of effort into selecting a great topic. The point is to practice how you speak, not what you speak about. Talk about your sock drawer if you like.

If you’re composing Tweets, Facebook updates, or blog posts, opportunities are plentiful. If something doesn’t work, try a different Tweet five minutes later.

But, for competitive opportunities, opportunities where the potential to reach millions of people is high, or time-consuming endeavors (speaking at a conference like TEDx, getting a book deal, writing a book), it makes sense to craft the best topic possible.

Here’s why it matters. [Read more…] about How to choose a topic for a TED Talk or book

Create a Viral TED Talk: The 3-stage Formula

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Check out the number of views on these 2 TEDx videos. They were filmed at the same TEDx event (TEDxHouston) in the same year (2010). One went viral. The other definitely didn’t.

viral TEDx talk

While 1 talk has had a total of 1,601 views in the last 7 or so years, the other has had 1,000 TIMES THAT AMOUNT (and ended up getting picked up by TED, where the same video got another 31 million views).

What the hell? Don’t all TED Talks go viral?

How did a talk get 32 million views and the other only get 1,600 from the SAME EVENT? And how can you ensure you don’t end up with a TED Talk that flops?

If you believe Brené Brown’s success was all luck, you should stop reading now. This article isn’t for you.

Instead, let’s look at the intentional things you can do to increase the chances your TED Talk will go viral and get you long-term results (paid speaking, book deals, consulting customers and more).

[Read more…] about Create a Viral TED Talk: The 3-stage Formula

4 ways asking for feedback on your topic is holding you back

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A lot of people ask for feedback on their TED Talk topic, wondering if an audience will love it and if TEDx events will accept them.

If you’re like most people, asking for “feedback” is a normal thing and best practice for making anything. After all, it’s what everyone does. It seems like an effective method – ask people what they think, and they’ll tell you honestly. And yet, there’s something missing from “feedback” that can keep your TED Talk from reaching its full potential.

It seems like an effective method – ask people what they think, and they’ll tell you honestly. And yet, there’s something missing from “feedback” that can keep your TED Talk from reaching its full potential and can keep you from getting selected.

Asking for feedback on your TED Talks topic is holding you back for a number of reasons

[Read more…] about 4 ways asking for feedback on your topic is holding you back

How to Develop your TED Talk idea

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With so many great ideas being shared on the TED or TEDx stages, how do you really know if YOUR idea is good enough? And how do you find the most compelling version of your idea in the first place?

The way I see it, you’ve got a few options:

  1. You could sit around and be paralized in fear and never do anything about your dream to do a TED Talk (this is what most people do)
  2. You could apply to events blindly and probably get rejected, but never know if you could have made ONE little tweak to your idea to make it that much more interesting (this is what stupid people do
  3. You could test and hone your event using specific strategies, so that when it comes time to apply to speak at an event you KNOW your idea is incredible (this is what we’re going to do)

Let’s get started. [Read more…] about How to Develop your TED Talk idea