TED talks have become famous because of the style of speech and the ideas they share. When looking for new speakers, the TEDxRexburg Team looks for new ideas. The identity of the speaker has little to do with whether they will be chosen to speak. As the official TEDx Guidelines put it “It’s actually not the person you should be searching for, but the person’s idea or innovation. This is a great way to decipher between a TEDx speaker, and an interesting person with an “okay” idea. What will the audience walk away knowing – that this person exists, or a new idea?”

So how do you know if your idea would make for a great TEDxRexburg Talk? Let’s first take a look at the TEDx Guidelines taken from https://www.ted.com/participate/organize-a-local-tedx-event/before-you-start.

• Look for new ideas that originate in your community but are widely relatable
• Look for ideas that need to be defended – not something self-evident, but an interesting argument, perhaps with an antagonist.
• Look for an idea the TED world hasn’t heard before. (In other words, not a copy of a TED Talk you like!)
• Look for ideas that change perceptions. (e.g., a scientific discovery that changes how you think about frogs, a philosophical argument that reshapes your notions of friendship.)
• Avoid pseudoscience – TED and TEDx are platforms for showcasing and explaining genuine advances in science, and it’s important we retain the respect of the scientific community. Speakers should avoid the misuse of scientific language to make unsubstantiated claims.
• No talks with an inflammatory political or religious agenda, nor for polarizing “us vs them” language

The TEDxRexburg team also has some of their own stipulations when it comes to the topic. First, the team looks for topics that apply to the Eastern Idaho area. Whatever your topic is, it must be able to relate to the people who live here and must relate to a wide range of people. The audience is diverse, so topics that only target a small group – like target business owners or college students – aren’t going to resonate with most of the audience. Second, the TEDxRexburg team looks for interesting and new ideas. Many people who want to do a motivational topic aren’t given an interview because their idea is either something that’s already been said or isn’t said in a new way. Lastly, the team tries to create a diverse program, so they will only allow one speaker to discuss a specific topic.

Still not sure if you’re idea would be a good TEDxRexburg talk? Then talk with a few of your friends and family. Tell them your idea and see what they think. And watch some TED talks. They will give you a great idea of what ideas make great TED talks.

And if you’re interested in applying with your new idea, go to the speaker tab and click apply.

Whether you applied to speak or are just the curious type, you’ve probably wondered how TEDxRexburg speakers are chosen. The process itself is rather simple.

Nominating a Speaker

If you want to nominate someone who you believe would be an excellent speaker, then you go to tedxrexburg.com and nominate that person. Once you’ve filled out the form, that information is inputted into a Google Spreadsheet. When it’s time to start looking for speakers again, the TEDxRexburg Team refers to this spreadsheet. A member of the team then emails or calls every nominated person on that list to encourage them to apply to speak.

Nominating a speaker is not enough to get them an audition. They must apply to speak. This is because many individuals are nominated every year who are not interested in speaking and so we will not ask someone to audition who has not applied.

If you have nominated someone, give them a nudge to apply.

Applying to Speak

Once a speaker has applied to speak their information is inputted into another Google Spreadsheet. This is the list that the TEDxRexburg Team uses to scope out potential speakers. Potential speakers are chosen to audition based on their ideas. There are often similar, competing ideas every year. In these cases, the more unique or well formed of the two is the one who is more likely to be offered an audition. Anywhere from 10-20 people can be asked to audition each year and usually 8-12 actually set up an appointment.

Auditions

Auditions are held over the course of a few days. Each speaker has 2-3 minutes to pitch their idea and then 7-8 minutes to have a Q&A with the audition panel. That panel consists of the speaking coach, the license holder and the event managers.

Selecting the Speakers

After each audition day, the panel discusses the auditions and selects the best speakers. There are many factors that go into picking speakers:

How complete the idea is can be a determining factor in selecting a speaker. Speakers are picked based on their idea, not on their ability to present. A speaker who has a concrete grasp on their idea is more likely to be selected than a speaker who just has an idea.

The style of presentation is not important when selecting speakers. Presentation style or grace is something that can be learned so those who have difficulty with presenting are given many opportunities to work with the TEDxRexburg speaking coach to improve their skills.

Gender balance is an important part of each event. The TEDxRexburg team strives to have at least two women in the program, but ideally would like to have an even split between speaker genders. This plays a part in the competition of speaker selection. Men are more likely to apply to be a TEDxRexburg speaker, meaning that there is more competition for a spot for men than for women.

Variety of ideas is also vital to each program. The event can only have two speakers who cover a similar topic. In cases where there are few unique ideas, the TEDxRexburg Team will hand select individuals and invite them to speak in order to diversify the program. These hand-selected speakers go through the same speaking process, but do not have to formally apply or audition for the program. They can be picked for their field of expertise or for a unique hobby.

Ability to communicate while setting up the audition. First impressions say loads about your personality, and your first impression as a speaker starts not at the audition, but while setting up the audition. Potential speakers who are very slow to respond to calls or emails or who are unclear or hard to communicate with are less likely to be selected because these are indications of future communication problems that could arise.

After careful consideration, the speakers are selected are notified. Those who are not selected for that year’s program are notified and given ways they can continue to participate in that year’s event and are also encouraged to apply again next year. After this, the speaking process begins.

Once the speakers have been chosen they begin a four month refining process. Speakers are required to attend one coaching night, a speaker dinner, a dry run and a dress rehearsal.

The Coaching Night is the first time all of the speakers are in the same room. Each speaker gives their speech and receives feedback from the speech coach and the other speakers. This night usually takes 3-5 hours to complete. We only require one coaching night, but can set up multiple coaching nights at the request of the speakers.

About two weeks before the big day, the TEDxRexburg Team puts on a thank you banquet we call the speaker dinner. This is an opportunity for speakers to meet the entire TEDxRexburg Team and visa versa. This is a night of relaxation and gratitude.

Between a week and a day before the event there will be a dry run. This is the speakers’ first opportunity to practice on the actual stage. During this time, the technical and sound team works with speakers on mics, powerpoints and any other technical matters. Each speaker gets 30-40 minutes to practice their speech and has the opportunity to get further advice from the speaking coach and other members of the TEDxRexburg Team.

The dress rehearsal is a complete run through of the entire event and is the final refining point before the event. All speakers are in the theater together and practice how they will come on and off the stage and get to see the full videos that will be shown as well as practice with the emcee. The dress rehearsal usually happens the morning of the event.

Those are the four major requirements for the speakers. They have the opportunity to work with the speaking coach as much as they wish, but they are not required to.

In 1984, a new speaking movement began. This small nonprofit organization began a movement of sharing ideas that become a globally recognized brand. That organization was TED. (Fun fact, did you know that TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design?) Because of the popularity of TED talks, the TED organization created an sister organization that would allow cities, businesses, universities and locals to hold their own TED events, called TEDx.

TEDx events are held all over the country and the world and are independently organized by community members and businesses. TEDx is also a nonprofit, which means all money made at the event goes towards next year’s event. Everyone who works on a TEDx event is a volunteer and receives no monetary compensation for their work.

TEDxRexburg is our community’s local event. This event only allows speakers who have a connection to this area. This gives TEDxRexburg the unique ability to be focused and tailored to the community by only allowing speakers who have been a part of it.

The purpose of TEDxRexburg is to give community members the opportunity to share their unique ideas and experiences, with the hope of education everyone and expanding our world view. Although there are some limitations on the way ideas are expressed, there is no topic that is too bold or too weird for the stage.

TEDxRexburg holds one event per year. Speakers are selected four months before the event and work with a speech coach and the rest of the TEDxRexburg Team to refine their ideas. Each event typically features 7-8 speakers with a variety of topics and ideas.

If you’re interested in learning more about TEDxRexburg, check out this site and the TEDxRexburg Facebook page for more information or click here to learn more about the speaking process or how speakers are chosen.