Diary of a TEDx Speaker, part 2: What Happens After You Get Accepted to TEDx?
Some people make public speaking look so easy.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve seen dozens of videos of TED and TEDx talks. Hours upon hours of polished, memorized talks delivered with impressive confidence. Maybe it makes you feel a bit insecure, because your own presentations don’t feel YouTube-worthy.
Allow me to let you in on a little secret: TED talks look so effortless because they’re the result of a ton of [redacted] work. I’m talking months of preparation, countless rehearsals, and seemingly endless revisions.
In fact, I’m constantly telling my clients that “not everything needs to be a TED talk” because day-to-day public speaking doesn’t call for anywhere near that level of effort.
But sometimes, it’s worth it.
Photo from my TEDx Mechanicsville talk.
Whether you’ve been invited to speak at a TEDx event or you’re trying to decide whether to put your name forward, understanding what the preparation process entails can help you decide if the experience is right for you.
Note: this is Part 2 of a 3-part series about the experience of speaking at a TEDx event – inspired by my experiences on the TEDx Mechanicsville stage (now known as TEDxOttawa) in 2025. Part 1 was about how to apply and get accepted as a TEDx speaker, so check that one out if you’re curious about that stage of the process. Today, let’s talk about what to expect if you are chosen as a speaker, what the preparation process looks like, and how to make the most of it.
And to be clear, this is all coming from me, Alex Keenan. I don’t claim to speak for the TED organization or the organizers of any TEDx event. Keep in mind that every TEDx event has a different set of organizers who have different ways of doing things.
Your experience might not look quite like mine, but regardless, I hope my insights can help you in your decision or preparation.
So, you’ve been chosen as a TEDx speaker. What now?
Let’s imagine ourselves on that day when you get the email from the TEDx organizers: out of many exceptional applicants, you’ve been chosen to speak at their event!
At this point, you’ll be feeling a mix of excitement and terror because you took my advice and applied before you felt 100% ready. That means you have a solid idea and a clear point of view, but you're not sure exactly how you’re going to pull it off. Now, you’ve got a few months to figure it out.
(For my talk at TEDx Mechanicsville, I had four months to prepare – a period of time which is somehow both an eternity and the blink of an eye.)
I said it last time, but I’ll say it again: you do not need to have a fleshed-out talk ready to go when you apply to speak at a TEDx event.
Here’s why: between now and the day of the event, the event organizers will support you in pulling together a really solid talk about the idea you’ve pitched. You may also get group and individual coaching, where you can get feedback on your draft and delivery as they progress.
Get ready for a whirlwind of creativity, learning, and growth.
A quick note about TEDx coaching
If you’re offered coaching as part of the speaker experience, take advantage of it.
It’s a great way to clarify your ideas and get feedback on what works, what’s confusing, whether you’ve got the pacing right, and how to make your stories more compelling.
These sessions are also an amazing opportunity to bond with your fellow speakers.
You’re going to lean on each other as you go through this thrilling and nerve-wracking process, and they will remain part of your community long after you’ve stepped off stage.
If by chance you’re not offered coaching through the organization, I would strongly consider you look for support elsewhere. Having someone in your corner to help you refine your ideas, make decisions, and practice your talk can make the entire process feel less overwhelming, and it will ultimately help you deliver a stronger presentation. In fact, I’d love to be that person for you.
Here’s what you should know about what’s coming your way once you’ve agreed to do a TEDx talk.
01: Everybody’s got an opinion.
Most people have never done a TEDx talk and never will, but they want to be part of the process.
Anyone who’s ever dabbled in stand-up comedy can relate to the experience: it feels like every single person you know wants you to add their dubious jokes and meandering anecdotes to your set, convinced that they’re being helpful.
Here’s just a taste of the well-meaning advice and feedback that I received:
Make it a multi-media experience (complete with video from the advice-giver’s YouTube channel).
Include several phrases in a language spoken on the other side of the world (relevant to my story, but unfamiliar to most of my audience).
Make the topic less niche.
Make the topic more niche.
Go in a completely different direction, based on an anecdote that had not actually happened but which the advice-giver imagined might have occurred.
These all came out of conversations where I had asked people for their thoughts, and I did gain some useful insights.
They made suggestions that would have been brilliant in a different context. But I had to be discerning, stay committed to my vision, and keep in mind the particular constraints of the TEDx format.
The final draft of my talk was much better than the first, as a result of seeking and incorporating feedback. But if I’d succumbed to “TED talk by committee” syndrome and adopted ideas uncritically, the whole thing would have been a mess.
Instead, I chose to exercise my own judgment and stay true to my vision, which was the reason the organizers had chosen me as a speaker in the first place!
Bottom line: seek out feedback, have an open mind, and take others’ comments into consideration. But remember that at the end of the day, it’s your talk. Learn to distinguish between feedback that strengthens your idea and feedback that simply reflects someone else's preferences.
Chances are, throughout this process you’re not only going to become a better speaker, but a better editor as well.
02: You must memorize your talk.
At our first TEDx Mechanicsville meeting, someone asked, “Will we have a teleprompter?”
The organizers just laughed.
TEDx talks are memorized. It takes longer than you’d expect. After literal hours of practice, a voice inside of me started screaming, “I’m tired of these words! I don’t wanna say these words anymore!” I kept saying them anyway, over and over, until they began to haunt my dreams.
No, there will not be a teleprompter available for you. You need to know your talk inside and out.
You need to practice your delivery until it’s firmly in your muscle memory, until you can advance seamlessly between your slides, and until you have the physical awareness to stay inside that red dot on the floor.
So practice, practice, practice. Practice while you’re making dinner. Practice while you’re driving to work. Put a rug down on the floor and stand on it while you practice, pretending that it’s the iconic TED red dot. Draw faces on sticky notes and practice making eye contact with them while you speak. Practice in a calm and quiet space. Practice in a loud and chaotic space. Practice it forwards and backwards. Practice in front of a mirror. Film yourself practicing and then make adjustments based on what you see.
I even know someone who practiced in the living room of some people she barely knew.
You will be so sick of your talk that you’ll curse the day you signed up for it. Too bad. Practice it again.
Get to know your material so well that you stop thinking about what you’re going to say and can instead focus on how you’re connecting with your audience.
03: You’ll work through multiple versions of your talk.
On top of all the practice, you’re going to write multiple drafts of your talk as you refine the storytelling, flow and timing.
Writing a talk and speaking it out loud are two completely different things. What sounds great on paper might sound awkward when spoken.
That's why I encourage speakers to start saying their ideas out loud long before they think they're ready. You'll quickly discover sentences that feel clunky, transitions that don't quite work, and stories that take longer to tell than they do to read.
Every revision brings your talk closer to something that flows with ease.
04: You’ll need to do your homework.
Anything you include in your talk must be verified and consented to. This requires time, attention to detail, and due diligence.
If you’re making factual claims outside of your direct experience, you’ll need to provide credible sources for them. Do your research, assess your sources critically, and keep careful records of them. TED requires each talk to be fact-checked before it’s posted online.
If you plan to use photos of other people, make sure you get their consent. Those images are going to end up online when your talk is posted, and not everybody wants their picture out in the world like that.
(Honestly, though, don’t look at this step as a burden. I loved reconnecting with the people who had shared an incredible experience with me, and they were all excited to be part of the show.
If you want to use diagrams, drawings or other art, make sure you have the right to use each element. I paid an artist good money for a hand-drawn image that was displayed for approximately 3 seconds during my talk, and I have zero regrets about it.*
05: Think through your presentation visuals.
TEDx talks are short. They force you to get to the point, which has the unfortunate side effect of limiting how vivid your stories can be and how easily you can evoke particular emotions in the audience.
Luckily, images can communicate what words can’t. For example, I used carefully selected photos to bring levity to my talk and help the audience imagine moments that were difficult to describe in words. One of the most common pieces of feedback I received was that my photos helped bring the whole thing to life.
Slides are optional in TEDx talks, and plenty of people don’t bother with them. If you do decide to use a slide deck, be thoughtful about how you use it.
A few tips: Think clean and high-impact. Images are usually better than words. Be intentional with your choices, asking yourself whether each slide adds to your talk or distracts from it.
A powerful image, simple diagram, or meaningful photograph can reinforce your message or bring life to your words. Lots of text or clutter, on the other hand, will take your audience out of the moment. Remember: your audience came to hear you. Your slides should enhance the story, not become the story.
No matter what the visual, high-definition is a must. Grainy images will look like trash on the big screens.
06: Expect check-in points (or make your own).
The organizers of your event will probably (hopefully?) give you incremental deadlines: have your draft ready to share by this date, have it memorized by this date, submit your slide deck by this date.
I was grateful for these stepping stones…even as I was laboriously memorizing my talk on the Sunday night before my coaching session. They saved me from last-minute panic right before the event.
If you by chance don’t receive these from the support team, make your own deadlines! Consider finding an accountability buddy who will check in on you and make sure you meet these self-imposed commitments.
Breaking the process down can help you feel more confident about the progression of your talk. Instead of thinking, "yikes, I have to write an entire TEDx Talk," you're simply focused on finishing this week's draft, refining one story, or memorizing one section at a time.
A TEDx Talk is a lot of work! (But it’s worth it)
Preparing for a TEDx Talk is unlike preparing almost any other presentation you'll ever give. Understand that you’re signing up for a lot of work.
It’s challenging, time-consuming and occasionally exhausting – but it’s also incredibly rewarding.
You don’t get paid to do a TEDx talk, but it does offer you visibility, (usually) coaching, and other supports that you don’t have to pay for, that will make you a stronger storyteller and a more confident speaker.
For me, and many other people, the experience was entirely worth it. But you have to decide whether it’s worthwhile for you, and whether it’s a commitment that you’re prepared to make.
Stay tuned for Part 3, where I tell you what to expect on the big day and the moment when you finally get on that TEDx stage!
*I am, however, a bit salty that the video editor didn’t see fit to include the image in the version of the talk that was posted online. Here it is for you to admire.
Te Araroa, “The Long Pathway” | Aotearoa, New Zealand
Graphic by Stephanie Descary.
