This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Today on Side Hustle School, we're joined by Anthony. He is a dedicated environmental conservationist. I almost said that, conservativist. That's not the right way to say it, conservationist. I got it right.
I shouldn't second guess myself. For over 10 years, he's been developing innovative methods in the field and now feels ready to share his insights with a wider audience. So basically what he wants to do is give a talk, give a TED talk specifically. His aspiration to take the stage at a TED or TEDx event brings him to us today. He's looking for advice on how to break into the platform, especially coming from a non-academic background.
So if he wants to give a TED or TEDx talk, or if you perhaps want to, it's actually not that hard, especially with TEDx just because there are so many of those events still happening all over the world. You know, to get into proper TED is a little bit more difficult, but TEDx, not that difficult. So let's talk about it. What might you do to enhance your presentation skills, craft a compelling talk? How do you apply to events and so on?
I'll tell you all about it in a quick action-packed episode. How can I give a TED talk? Detailed question and my answer coming right up. [Music]
Hey there, I'm Anthony, a long-time listener and follower. I've been involved in environmental conservation for over a decade.
I've developed some unique methods and ideas that I believe could inspire others. I'm intrigued by the idea of sharing these on a larger platform like TED. How does one prepare for, apply, or get noticed for a TED or TEDx talk, especially when coming from a non-academic background? What steps should I take to refine my presentation skills and content to be suitable for such a prestigious and influential stage? All right, Anthony, exciting to hear about the idea for a talk, and as I briefly alluded to, I don't think it's that difficult, at least if you're thinking TEDx.
If you're thinking the big TED stage, that's hard. You gotta kinda wait for them to call, basically. But TEDx, there are, I think, hundreds. It used to be hundreds, I'm not sure what the number is, but a lot of small TEDx events that take place in different cities all over the world, all the time. And they need to fill a lot of stage spots.
So it's actually not that difficult to get your foot in the door with at least one of those events. Basically, what you wanna do is you go on the TED website, and there's usually a small website, a smaller website, or a page, or at least a contact info for all of these other events, and you just reach out to them. Sometimes there actually is a link where you can just go and apply because you're not the first person who's thought of an idea that you want to share at TED. But sometimes there's just a contact field. So you contact whoever the local person is, and you kind of give them a short pitch.
Short pitch is key. Give them a really short pitch, like a paragraph or two, and the idea is to spark a further conversation, perhaps be able to present to the local team and make your wider pitch on why you'd like to be part of it. You can also volunteer to be part of one of these teams, and that might not get you in to giving the talk the first round, but then the next year that they do the event, they all know you, and that can also be a good little introduction. I know some people who've done it that way. In addition to that, of course, you wanna make sure you understand the TED format.
Typically 18 minutes for the classic talk, but there are shorter ones as well. Develop your presentation skills. There are lots of books and resources on that. Watch a lot of TED Talks. There definitely is a TED format that you're kind of expected to follow.
So you need to be familiar with that. So do that research and start reaching out to people, and I hope it works out. Let us know. Listeners, if you have a question, if you're trying to break into something, maybe not a TED Talk, it could be something else. We're all about that.
Like we're all about helping people find creative solutions or kind of unravel, like what is the backstory or the magic behind how something gets featured or not featured. Just let me know. Visit us on school.com/questions. Much more to come throughout the year. This has been episode 2,612.
I'll be back tomorrow. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
