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"It’s my dream to deliver a TED talk..."
This statement always gives me goosebumps as a public speaking coach, but
probably not for the reason you're thinking. Many people consider TED to be the
capstone of speaking professionally; however, the truth may surprise you.
In this article, I will share why I personally have no desire to deliver TED, and why I
often caution my coaching clients against submitting a TED application. DO NOT
read this if you are determined to deliver a TED talk in 2025, and DO read this if you
aren’t sure if that’s the next best step for your speaking career.
Before I jump into the truth about TED, let's look at why it has become the single
most talked about way to launch your professional speaking career.
TED was created in 1984 as a nonprofit community dedicated to spreading ideas in
the form of a Powerpoint-supported 18 minute presentation on stage. There are
more than 4,100 talks already delivered, and up to 3,000 events held annually
across the globe.
TED speakers include such personalities as Bill Clinton, Malcolm Gladwell, Amy
Purdy, Tavi Gevinson, Bill Gates, and Larry Page.
There are also a variety of TEDx talks, which typically feature local voices across
1200 cities and 133 countries. TEDx talks are independently organized events that
follow the same format as TED.
As of March 2023, there were 4,225 TED Talks completed, and nearly 194,000
TEDx talks. The TED YouTube channel has over 2.5 billion views, while the Tedx
YouTube channel has over 7 billion views.
Most speakers hope that TED will propel them into viral status, or at the very least,
send droves of potential clients to their website. You would think that TED is a
guaranteed way to gain authority as well as visibility.
The problem is: Only 3% of TED talks reach between 10,000-1 million views, and 76% have less than 1,000 views.
One of the benefits of throwing your hat into the TED ring is you receive
professional quality video footage of your presentation on stage in front of a live
audience. This type of video footage can cost upwards of thousands to create or
edit for your speaker reel, if you are lucky enough to have recordings from previous
speaking events.
Unfortunately, I have personally talked to TED speakers who did not care for their
video footage and/or who had a negative experience on the stage.
Here are other ways that TED may hurt your speaking career:
● You are not allowed to sell or promote anything.
● You have to submit an application at least 3-6 months in advance of the event
date, and the average number of applications is 86 before being accepted.
● After your application is accepted, you have to audition in front of a panel of
judges to be chosen. You will not be delivering your entire talk, but a shorter
segment of it, and will be answering questions as well.
● Your idea has to be delivered in 18 minutes or less, and follow a very specific
format for presentation slides.
● You have to pay for all of your own costs (travel, lodging, etc) if it is not in your
city/state, as well as tickets for your friends/family to attend for Tedx (TED will
cover some costs).
● Less than 9% of TEDx videos make it to the TED channel.
● ***if you are a coach, your application may be considered less desirable than
other types of thought leaders (note: this was from conversations with my
speaker colleagues).
I can understand the honor and prestige of putting "TED speaker" on your social
media profiles and marketing collateral. Yet, this proves nothing about your
actual presentation skills, or your ability to command a fee as a professional
speaker.
It should also be noted that there are other talk formats that may be a better fit for
your current needs. Some of these include Ignite, Disrupt, Josh, Pecha Kucha or
other formats.
Some of the skills you MOST need as a professional speaker include:
● Crafting a beautiful signature talk that both addresses a common problem AND invites
action.
● Adapting that talk to be delivered anywhere from 18-90 minutes long, in person or
virtual, and with or without technology.
● Utilizing the right presentation format for your style and topic (hint: most speaking
opportunities allow you several different format choices)
● Being flexible to the needs of your event organizer, including changes in schedule and
delivery of content.
● Confidently offering a service, book, or program to take the conversation deeper with
your audience.
● Engaging your audience through activities and participation.
● Claiming your expertise in your industry by charging a speaking fee.
● Connecting with decision makers in multiple markets and locations.
● Accepting feedback in the form of audience surveys and testimonials so you can
improve your next talk.
Most of these skills cannot be taught during the TED application process. Even if you
master the TED process, you will still need to learn these important skills to launch your
professional speaking career.
I think the biggest challenge of a TED is how much time and energy you will invest
into this opportunity and weighing that against the anticipated (and potential) return
on investment. You may put in weeks/months/years of energy and effort to prepare
and produce it, and have few results to show for it. In addition, you may have no
clear direction on what happens after you have delivered a TED event.
It’s rather like applying for a job. You submit the cover letters as the pitch to the
applications, conduct multiple rounds of interviews, and may never hear back for
months at a time (if ever).
If you are at a place in your business where you are fully booked with clients and do
not need to produce income from months of preparation, or you are pivoting to a
new idea or wish to be a disruptor in your industry, then TED may be for you.
However, if your goal is to sign more coaching clients, get in front of live audiences
who are action-oriented, get paid for your expertise and improve your presentation
skills, then there may be a better way for you to launch your speaking career
beyond the red dot.
Here are some specific speaking opportunities that may result in greater impact as a
business owner:
● Podcast interviews
● Panel discussions
● Experiential workshops
● Paid keynotes
● Mastermind guest speaking
● Showcase presentations at expos
● Online summits or challenges
These types of speaking opportunities will allow you to both showcase and in some
cases, monetize your expertise. In addition, you can share the stage with other
professional speakers who are also thought leaders, and participate in collaborative
industry events. Finally, you can build your network and make connections with event
organizers that may result in future speaking opportunities, with or without an application
or audition.
If you’re dreaming of delivering a powerful presentation in front of thousands of people,
stop limiting yourself to a single stage with a red dot.
Meet the expert:
Jenn Espinosa-Goswami is an ICF-certified public speaking coach
and Founder of Weightless LLC. A former Toastmasters International
officer and graduate of the Masters of Leadership program at
Augsburg University, Jenn helps leaders speak more clearly,
consistently and confidently on stage or camera and get paid for
their expertise. Over the past 10 years, Jenn has presented to
thousands of executives and entrepreneurs, and was recognized by
Influence Digest as top 15 coaches in Minneapolis. Prior to starting
her company, Jenn served as a certified fraud examiner for 16 years
within Fortune 500 financial companies.
Dive deeper into her wealth of knowledge:
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