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Speaking at TED and TEDx events isn’t something a speaker should aspire to. I know my opinion is not a popular one, but stick with me here… I have specific reasons why speaking at TED or TEDx events isn’t how to build a speaking business. As the “Mama Bear of Public Speakers,” I feel the need to explain what happens for speakers at TEDx events because so many speakers THINK doing a TED talk will benefit them and help them grow their business. But it won’t.<\/p>\n
Of course, I’ve been inspired and educated by some TED and TEDx talks because that’s what good speakers DO. We inspire, we educate, we motivate, we entertain. So when you watch a speech, on any stage, theoretically, the outcome should be similar every time. <\/p>\n
Yet, as much as a photo or video with those giant red letters is coveted by speakers, it\u2019s a curiosity to me. In my decades-long speaking career no meeting planner ever asked if I\u2019d spoken for TED or TEDx, if I\u2019m a member of any group or organization, or anything else like that. What meeting planners want to know is if you can present your topic well.<\/p>\n
Conversely, the TED and associated TEDx organizations have made MILLIONS of dollars on the backs of brilliant speakers they never pay<\/strong> (in fact to attend the big international TED event, the speakers have to pay for their own ticket themselves, plus all the travel!).<\/p>\n Let’s look at the reality of the facts of doing business as a speaker and the 6 reasons why I believe TED isn’t a great choice for speakers to build a business:<\/p>\n 1. Do the speakers get to sell anything, at all, anywhere at the event? No.<\/strong> 2. Do the speakers get the list of attendees? No.<\/strong> 3. Can the speakers offer the attendees something for free to collect contact information? No.<\/strong> 4. Do the speakers get any promotion before the event? Barely, if any.<\/strong> 5. Do the speakers get to keep and edit their own video? No.<\/strong> 6. Do the speakers get any kind of compensation? No. Yet, even after all this, TED insists each speaker’s presentation is unique, falls within very specific standards, and makes speakers jump through all sorts of hoops for MONTHS in advance – and that’s even after they go through a stringent application process. All this while simultaneously making money on the backs of those speakers and their hard work for very little in return.<\/p>\n Look, I don’t blame TED for making sure speakers meet their rules. If you’ve ever hosted an event or even attended one with speakers and saw a speaker go rouge and completely ignore their time allotment, or went off the rails in any number of ways, you know what I mean! Yet still… to make speakers prepare what might be the best speeches of their lives for no financial or other tangible return? That’s harsh.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve spoken with MANY TEDx speakers who thought that event was really going to catapult their speaking careers, bring them all sorts of clients, money, and maybe even a little fame or celebrity at least in their niche, only to be terribly disappointed at their hard work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Not to mention, beyond posting that pic or video on social media, and maybe sharing the YouTube link on their website, most speakers generally don\u2019t know how to market themselves to meeting planners after the event. In fact, I\u2019ve spoken with MANY TEDx speakers who thought that event was really going to catapult their speaking careers, bring them all sorts of clients, money, and maybe even a little fame or celebrity at least in their niche, only to be terribly disappointed at their hard work with nothing but a photo to share and a memory with their hopes and expectations crushed yet again.<\/p>\n Are there stories of speakers who did a TEDx talk then then went on to do great things and become in demand speakers? Sure. But here\u2019s the secret: they would have become successful anyway because they are awesome speakers and generally awesome business-minded marketers<\/em>. Maybe being on the TEDx stage accelerated their time frame a bit or gave them a leg up in their marketing, but it was what THEY did to grow their businesses, not what TEDx did for them. <\/p>\n Another secret: Meeting planners generally don\u2019t go to TEDx events or websites to find speakers. If a meeting planner happens to be at a TEDx event and sees a speaker, maaaaaaybe that can get a person booked for a paid gig, but again, that’s not a strategy, it’s a hope and a prayer.<\/p>\n So … if your goal is to speak for a living and make money, TEDx is a giant distraction. You could be using that time to develop and hone your keynote speech, and to market yourself to places with a budget. If your goal is to have an ego boost (nothing wrong with that, as long as you know that’s mostly what you’re getting) or to be able to say you had the experience of speaking at a TEDx event, then by all means, go for it. But if you think going through the rigorous process is going to help you build your speaking business, think again. It’s a very unlikely possibility. <\/p>\n
\nThat means you’re never allowed to say anything at the front of the room to get sales, you don’t get a table to display any books or products, and you can forget about giving everyone any kind of order form or handout with details about how to buy anything from you. <\/p>\n
\nIf you want to know who the attendees are you’ve got to find a way to talk to everyone outside of your speech. Unless the TEDx event is tiny, it would be physically impossible to speak individually to everyone else in the room. But the organizers of the event are not allowed to give away the names of the attendees, even though those attendees saw the speakers names, and perhaps came BECAUSE of one of the speakers – maybe even you.<\/p>\n
\nAgain, this is another no-no and not the model of how TED or TEDx works. So all the cool things you can do from stage to collect people’s information: mobile apps, texting a code to a special number, creating a simple opt-in page on your website that you tell everyone about, asking for everyone’s business cards to be collected, or even the tried-and-true sign up form going around the room – none of that is acceptable or allowed.<\/p>\n
\nThe local pre-event promo is going to depend on the marketing and PR skill of the promoter of the event. In most cases, it’s very low. You might get your name on their website, although not even that is a certainty. On the TED main site itself, very little about the TEDx events is posted, and clicking around to find more is tricky at best. That means you’ll have to count on the skill of the organizer to put your info and maybe your photo on their site. <\/p>\n
\nAs the speaker, you’d think your content is your content, right? Wrong. Not with TED. The only place the videos with the big red letters can be shared is through THEIR YouTube channel, so any traffic you drive to watch your video benefits THEM, not you (especially if you’re trying to build and grow a YouTube fan base… too bad so sad for you.) The rules on the TED website specifically tell the promoters of the local events, “Do not upload your videos on any other YouTube channels or video platforms.” So that’s out.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>As a TEDx speaker, you get the privilege of taking a photo and getting video in front of those red letters that you can share, but that doesn’t belong to you. You get nothing else. Gee, thanks. A photo and video I can share that will benefit TED and expand it’s brand far more than me as a speaker? Ick.<\/p>\nYour Best Speech Ever?<\/h2>\n