This month, I’m a featured speaker at TEDxRice. I am nervous because Rice University is my alma mater. My formative years on-campus shaped the trajectory of my career as a Digital Strategy Consultant. My talk goes beyond the realm of professional; it’s deeply personal. The 15-minute presentation focuses on a topic I’ve dedicated 6-months of full-time work: a mobile app to support citizen journalism. The talk will unveil my “baby” so to speak. It will reveal my ideas on the future of digital journalism at the risk of facing harsh criticism, vulnerability, and/or applause.
When I drafted my speech, I scoured the internet for helpful TEDx tips and resources. I ran into a bunch of dead ends with 404 errors and outdated information. TED speeches are difficult to write. A fan will tell you that TED talks are not traditional lectures by subject matter experts. In fact, the tone is conversational. An attempt to develop a relationship with a crowd that suggests, “We are all working together on this idea.”
Here are my top 3 suggestions for a successful speech:
INTRODUCTION: Draw in your audience members with something they care about (read: not something only you care about). Start with a clear statement of what the idea is. If the idea is something fun, but not something the audience would ever think about, open with a surprising and cool of relevance.
MEAT & POTATOES: Make a list of all the evidence you want to use. Consider what your audience already knows about and the things you’ll need to convince them of.
CONCLUSION: Find a landing point in your conclusion that will leave your audience feeling positive towards your idea.
In addition to these bullet points, I will re-emphasize the need to draft and re-draft your writing. Also, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. As a speaker, you can blow through 15-minutes when you are on top of your game. Alternatively, 15-minutes can seem like an eternity when you are flailing. For a terrific TED talk to look to for inspiration, take a look at one of my favorite talks.