Why I’m a TEDx Junkie

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One of the major thrills of coaching TEDx speakers is watching them blossom from the initial creation of an idea worth spreading to delivering a superstar talk on the big day.

Another thrill is being involved (as a volunteer) with the planning and execution of a TEDx event, It gives us the opportunity to become acquainted with all of the speakers. These are pretty impressive people — thought leaders, authors, industry experts, influencers, or even just regular people with powerful ideas to share. We bond like family and keep the connections going, primarily through Facebook, because our speakers come from places around the globe.

Wise people say that helping people, being of service in some small way, is a “high.” They’re right about that. For me and the many TEDx volunteers and speaker coaches around the world, it’s an addictive (but benign) experience.

One of my clients, Tony J. Selimi, traveled all the way from London to give his talk, which was entitled, “Technological Armageddon: A Wake-Up Call,” which was about how human consciousness needs to evolve quickly in order to create artificial intelligence that is a boon to humankind, not a threat. It’s truly disturbing how fast AI is developing and what dangers lie ahead if it is not created with the best of intentions.

Tony is a human behavioral and cognition expert internationally knowns as “The See-Through Coach.” He specializes in assisting people from all market sectors and professions find solutions to their personal, professional, and business problems so that they maximize their human potential. He supports them on their journey to achieve excellence in all of the key areas of life; spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, business, money, relationship and love. He gave me a signed copy of his book, “#Loneliness: The Virus of the Modern Age,” and I can’t put it down. Loneliness is one of the sad consequences of living in the digital world, but Tony shows the reader how to defeat loneliness and live a more happy, fulfilling life. He also wrote, “A Path to Wisdom,” which is next in my reading queue.

If you’re a TED junkie, as I am, I encourage you to contact your local TEDx organizers and offer to volunteer.

A TEDx Speaker’s Experience, featuring Jim Lee

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In his 2013 TEDxWilmington talk, “Why the Millennial Generation Isn’t Broken,” financial advisor and futurist Jim Lee describes people between the ages of 16 and 36 as a, “somewhat economically challenged generation.” As a rule, they live at home, do not buy cars, are not getting married until their late 20s, and in many cases, are not having children until their mid- to late 30s.

Clocking in at about six minutes, Jim’s TEDxWilmington talk video has been viewed more than 11,900 times as of May 28, 2017.

As easy as Jim makes it look, giving a TEDx talk is a daunting experience, often requiring months of preparation and having to meet the stringent deadlines enforced by the organizer.

“After I learned of my acceptance as a speaker, I had about three months to prepare,” says Jim. “It was my entire focus. I talked to myself a lot, and also to imaginary audiences. I’d talk to anyone who would listen to me, basically.”

The TEDx talk is a unique format from what traditional speakers are used to. It’s just you, alone, in the center of a circular red carpet.

“There aren’t any crutches,” Jim says. “There’s no script, no podium, and no one else on stage — just you. It’s a bit harder than just going in front of a casual audience, because you have a concise, memorized message to convey within a certain time, and again, it’s just you up there.”

Jim describes his initial feeling when walking to his spot onstage as “panic meeting preparation.” During rehearsal, there had been technical difficulties.

“The theater was working out some sound issues,” Jim says, “so as prepared as I felt I was, I knew I might need to improvise. The battery in the PowerPoint remote was dying. There had been speakers earlier in the day who were almost brought to tears because of it. You’ll see during the course of my presentation that I’m pointing at the sky with my remote, trying to get a good connection.”

Jim recommends that speakers keep their talks as short and memorable as possible.

“One of the lessons I learned when I was preparing for my speech is that if you don’t remember what you’re supposed to say, then no one else will remember it, either,” he says. “I was inclined to keep cutting out sentences and refining until I had something that was really tight and solid.”

Other lessons Jim learned were:

• How to use his hands while speaking, and how to stand with his feet a little bit wider than usual for extra stability and confidence.

• That it helped to annotate his script to remind him where to include pauses and which words to emphasize.

After his TEDx talk, and in the months after his video was approved by TED and posted on YouTube, opportunity came knocking.

“For one thing, there was a lot of local recognition,” Jim says. “I subsequently was invited to speak, and have the travel costs covered, at engagements in Hawaii and Australia, which was amazing. The TEDx video gives you almost a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, proving you can speak as a credible authority, in front of a crowd.”

Click here to view Jim’s talk.

Jim Lee is the founder of Strategic Foresight Investments (StratFi) and Delaware’s only professional futurist.