I’m sure everyone has had the experience of watching someone give a Tedx talk like inspirational tie dye quotes and feeling completely lost and confused. But it is possible to learn how to watch, understand, and enjoy these talks. I want to walk you through exactly what a Tedx talk is, some of the different types of events that may be happening at one, and what things you can look out for during a talk so that you’ll feel more comfortable with your understanding of them. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in learning, don’t hesitate!
TEDx events are open-aired talks where community members share their thoughts on an inspiring subject with the elation designed for experiences rather than just words on paper.
1. TEDx Events are Open Air Talks
TED means technology, entertainment, and design. What TED talks do is share ideas that have an element of technology, entertainment or design to them. However what makes these talks Tedx style are the way that they are presented. These events often happen outside and sometimes even in areas that a typical person wouldn’t be caught dead in. They happen at locations like schools or universities instead of places where people go to watch things like plays or speeches. And the people who present these talks are often not your usual public speakers as they are far more personal in their presentations, talking about their passions and dreams.
2. Tedx Talks Feature Live Presenters
There are some roughly 300 live TEDx events across the world and they will all feature live presenters, who are usually local community members sharing their stories with an audience that ranges from just a few to hundreds of individuals.
Once you have chosen your location and settled down to watch the talk you’ll see a few things happen on stage first of all; a speaker may be announced at this point followed by a short introduction and scope for the talk. Then the speaker will start their talk, sharing their story. The TEDx website actually has a great breakdown of what a typical TEDx talk is and all the different things you can look out for.
Here are just some of the things you can look out for during a TEDx presentation:
· The presenter walks onto stage and stands in front of a whiteboard. The presenter will introduce themselves and give a quick overview of the talk. This is often done using an outline rather than words on paper.
· At this point the speaker will give an overview of what they are going to cover in the talk, and then move onto discussing their topic, which is usually quite personal. · TEDx talks have a duration of 18 minutes and it is expected that the speaker will reach their conclusion in the last 6 minutes of this time.
· Ads are not shown before or after these events, so the presenter must fit all of their content into this one time slot.
3. The Host is an Important Part of TEDx Events
The host of a TEDx event is usually someone who has an important part in organizing these events for our community. They help people to apply to speak as well as ensure that the event feels professional and meets with the standards set forth by TED.
· A host will often have a role in the introduction and scope of the talk as well as the format.
· They may help keep the speaker on track.
4. The Community is an Important Part of TEDx Events
The community is just as important a part of TEDx events as any other, that’s why they are designed to be open-aired. The TEDx program maintains several rules which focus on this openness; everyone is welcome and everyone has access to a live stream of the event at no charge. People are also welcome to tweet and write blogs about these events.
5. There is a Fair Amount of Buzz Surrounding TEDx Events
It’s no wonder that so many people are excited to attend one of these talks, and find a great deal of buzz surrounding them in the weeks prior to their event. Even more exciting is that people are talking about Tedx talks on Twitter, Facebook and blogs as they happen, passionately sharing what they think the talk was all about at first hand.
For instance if you recently attended an TEDx event take a look back at this video compilation of TEDx Mumbai talks from 2012:
The format and topics are very different from one talk to another within this series, but the passion surrounding these talks remains the same.
6. TEDx Talks are Often Recorded
The TEDx program will often encourage people to record the event if they can, but this is not essential. It’s possible for a TEDx event to be recorded without it being shown during the talk itself and at other times it may be filmed and published later on as well.
· There is no requirement for TED to film these events in order to include them on the website, though they have been using footage from them since 2006.
· You will most commonly find recordings of these talks uploaded onto the YouTube channel of your local TEDx event organizers or another similar channel.
· It’s also possible that the speaker may utilize a live broadcast of the event on their own website.
7. TEDx Talks are Not for Everyone
The format of TEDx talks can be off-putting for many people. They are often presented in an almost informal style, in front of a white board, and they can cover subject matter which is personal to the speaker or difficult to understand without prior knowledge. Even so they’re still well worth attending or watching as they come with lots of great content and themes that you may not have heard before.
Summary:
The TEDx talks are very different from your average public speech, but this is what makes them so great. They give you the opportunity to listen to amazing people who come from all over the world, sharing their stories. They offer a unique insight into their lives and experiences, and give you a chance to gain new insights into life.
