THE CORPORATE
TED EFFECT
Audiences today compare anyone speaking on any platform to the last TED talk
they saw—and that means you With
more than 17,000 TEDx events worldwide over the past eight years, could
oversaturation in the market mean the
significance of TEDx is dead?
The answer is no. Although its days
of career-making potential are gone,
there is a surge of interest from the
corporate market. Having discovered
their worth, many companies are
using TED/TEDx talks in training.
Millennial hiring managers prefer
information in highly concentrated,
multimodal, bite-sized pieces. And
they’re eager to work with people who
have this skill set.
Meetings experts report that having six to eight talks within two hours
is popular not only within corporate
settings, but for meetings in general.
The cultural “TED effect” is the shortening of sessions that planners offer
on their dockets. It’s shortsighted to
discount an offer for a 20-minute
speaking opportunity since they are
fast becoming an industry standard.
A well-executed TEDx also can act as
an audition, proving your capability to
capture these markets.
A SHORT GUIDE TO
SHORT TALKS
Identify a novel idea. Find that
undeveloped gem within you
that is a combination of your
passion, what you know, and
your unique experience. The best
talks resonate deeply within the
speaker in the present.
Understand that you are a
catalyst, the ideal messenger for
this breakthrough idea.
Start from the core message
and build an entirely different
talk around it.
Back the idea with research to
make it profound.
Speak with the audience, not at
them. Engage in a conversation
that makes each listener feel you
are speaking directly to them.
Make every minute count.
Never waste a word.
Showmanship has no place on
this platform. Set your ego aside.
Let the idea be the star of the
talk, not you. Short Talk Expert® HAYLEY FOSTER, MEd, has
worked with hundreds of smart people to deliver
messages that matter in TEDx and high-stakes venues
internationally. She guides thought leaders through
Core Message Coaching to discover original intellectual
property, and gives Delivering Brilliance keynotes and
trainings worldwide. Her book, Don’t Tank Your TED Talk!
12 Mistakes Professional Speakers Make, has become a
guide for all speakers for all talks.
CHANGE HOW YOU
THINK ABOUT SPEAKING
We aren’t paid for the number of minutes we’re onstage. We’re hired—and
paid—for the quality of the content
we provide, and the impact and memorability of our message.
Talking short is difficult. And
TED-style presentation is a completely
different genre. While a client may ask
for a TED talk, they may mean they
want the talk to fit into a 15-minute
time frame. Ask them to define what
they need. A TEDx talk is a particular
short talk, founded on a single, original core message, with support and
resonance. That being said, the tenets
to talking like TED are transferable to
short talks everywhere.
Like it or not, short talks are the
wave of the future. Past methods that
used to ensure speaking success will
no longer work going for ward. To stay
relevant, you must have the confidence and courage to tell a truth that
is yours and no one else’s. The benefit
of distilling down, then building out
a new idea will grow your intellectual
property beyond what can be quantified or foreseen.
A short talk can succinctly communicate an idea whose time has
come. It can quickly shift perspectives, start a movement, and truly
change the world. Having an impact
that makes a difference is why I
became a speaker, and the reach of
TEDx still does this. ■
