Everyone has a TED talk in them. If your first thought is “not me” then get your ass on Youtube and have a look at the hundreds of talks already there. People from all backgrounds, speaking in all languages, communicating life lessons. Sometimes funny and always educational. We’re all on a journey and local TEDx events will feature you if you apply. Find a place that will host you.
1. Throw your hat over the fence. Book yourself on the TED train and make it real. Setting things in motion will be the first step in a journey that will reward you on a thousand levels. Overcome the fear and step up.
2. Craft your speech. Craft is the word. No great piece of writing, art or music dropped first time. The same is true of oration. Writing is rewriting - put the work in on the page. Preparation is more than just writing though. Practice in front of a camera but more importantly practice in front of real people. The greatest stand up comedians spend many shows refining wording that works differently on stage than on the page. Putting in the hard hours will set you apart on the day - your audience will know the difference.
3. Eyes on you, not the Keynote. Less is more when it comes to visuals - your presentation should add to the story, not tell the story. People are turning up for the live experience not a commentated slide show. Guy Kawasaki recommends 10 slides for every 30 minutes of speaking…
4. Get your own people there. Supporters in the crowd will pump your confidence and boost your hype. It’s about more than this though. When the people you know are there, you’ll throw it up a gear and work harder to perfect the speech. Strangers you can walk away from, fans and colleagues - not so easy. Align those cognitive bias, condition the environment so that you up your game.
5. The journey continues when you walk back off stage. That’s right, it’s not completely about the talk. The video gets forgotten or lands out there in cyberspace. The question that will remain is what did you take away from the experience. Answer: personal growth and quantifiable evolution. You’ll have tested yourself in an enormous amount of ways. The philosophy at the very heart of London Real.
It’s not about the video or the audience listening, it’s about the challenge of making it happen. It will change you. Do it - no half measures.
