how to

Speak at TEDxWomen: The Complete Guide (2021 update)

October 18, 2017 by Ryan Hildebrandt 1 Comment

Here’s a surprising thing that most women don’t know — there are 180 TEDxWomen events every year that coincide with the TEDWomen conference, and many of them have open speaker application forms. This means it’s possible for anyone to apply to speak at TEDxWomen!

NOTE: if you aren’t sure about your topic, want to do all this right, and are looking for expert guidance (or, you tried this on your own and got turned down), click here to book a call with me.

If you’re a woman that wants to do a TEDx Talk, this is a HUGE DEAL. If you know a woman that wants to do a TEDx Talk (or should do one), they need to see this article.

The TEDx Speaker Application Guide (2020 update)

July 26, 2016 by Ryan Hildebrandt 11 Comments

Want to know all about the TEDx speaker application process? This post walks you through the entire process from start to finish:

how to find local events (and predict “secret” unannounced events long before they happen)
how to use LinkedIn to find TEDx organizers and speakers in your network
when to apply (not too early, not too late)
what to include in the application (whether you’re able to find an application form or not)
how the selection process works
what happens after you submit the application form

Every single one of my clients (and me) used this same process to speak at TEDx. Of course, you’re welcome to try this on your own, but if you’d like expert help on identifying a world-changing message inside you, crafting a pitch that stands out from the crowd, selecting the highest-quality events (and getting invited to speak, even if it’s your first time), click here to book a call with me

Note: this is a very tactical to-do-oriented post. For a strategic look on how to become a TEDx speaker (including selecting a topic that YOU are proud of, that audiences love, and make sure you get results from your talk, I recommend my free masterclass, which you can register for here)

For more background, check out my massively long post — Get a TED Talk This Year – The Ultimate Guide.

TEDx application deadlines are often 6+ months before the event (and any given event happens once a year), so you’ll select and develop your talk then and plan out which events to apply to before the deadline. You won’t be working full-time for a year on your TEDx Talk, you’ll just need to spread out some tasks.

How to Develop your TED Talk idea

November 15, 2015 by Ryan Hildebrandt Leave a Comment

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:

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)
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
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