It’s the first and most important question on our TEDxPortsmouth application, “What’s your Big Idea?” You’d think that someone who is applying to speak at a TEDx event would know how to articulate their Big Idea, but most don’t.
Here are some common “Big Idea” mistakes we see with our applicants—these examples will not only help YOU avoid these mistakes but also clarify what we mean when we are asking for your Big Idea.
1. Applicants confuse BIG with BROAD.
This is probably the most common mistake we see. Speakers share a Big Idea that feels like something you’d see on a poster of a hiker on top of a mountain, like “Follow your own path” or “Adversity is life’s greatest teacher.”
Yes, these are true, but what is your new take on this idea? What have we not already heard?
2. Applicants try to covertly sell a product or service.
“Why we need herbs, not doctors.” Okay, we scroll down a bit further and learn that this person sells herbal supplements. Hmmm. Or, “Why we all need a life coach” given by—scroll, scroll, scroll—big surprise: a life coach! What kills me is that you don’t NEED to sell anything. If you give a great talk, that will just happen naturally. One of our speakers who is a personal stylist gave a moving talk about letting her daughter wear a bow tie and seeing her come to life. Her business quadrupled within two weeks of the talk going live, but she sure didn’t sell her services from the TED stage.
3. Applicants can’t state their TEDx Big Idea concisely
Like a logline is to a movie, so the BIG IDEA is to a TED talk. If our applicants can’t share their idea in two lines or less, it tells us they need to keep thinking.
So how do producers decide if your TEDx Big Idea makes the cut?
When we are evaluating applications, we are looking to check three boxes.
Are you an expert in the subject matter you wish to share?
We often get speakers who are amateur enthusiasts—like a woman who found a lot of wild mushrooms around her house and her Big Idea was that mushrooms should be classified as animals, not plants. Super interesting, but this is a topic for a botanist or a research scientist. Ditto for the English professor who wanted to talk about the history of the first female pilots. Maybe this could work if one of the pilots was his grandmother. But lacking a personal connection, it was an interesting lecture, not a TED talk.
Are you the right person to share this Big Idea?
If you want to talk about abortion, you might be the “right person” if you have had one, been denied one, worked in reproductive healthcare, been a civil rights lawyer or perhaps a therapist. It depends on what you want to say about it. For example, if you’re a therapist, you might be the right person to talk about the impact of trauma on women forced to deliver a baby they don’t want. But you wouldn’t be the right person to talk about the legal implications of overturning Roe v. Wade. That would be for a lawyer.
Will your talk be interesting and valuable to the TEDx Talk audience—both locally and globally?
What do we mean by “interesting”? Think GENERAL interest. Ask: Will this be interesting to any audience member or just to someone who works in my field? If it’s the latter, save your talk for a work convention.
And remember, TED talks live two lives. Once on the day you perform them for your live audience, and then as a video on the TEDx YouTube channel. This means a TED talk needs to have universal appeal.
- “How to make Portsmouth better.” NO
- “How to make small cities better.” YES
Will this topic be interesting to someone on the other side of the country? How about on the other side of the world? The former is a requirement; the latter is a “nice to have.”
Furthermore, remember that the mission of TED is ultimately to inspire people to make the world better. This means delivering information—even well-delivered, fascinating information—is not enough. TED speakers aren’t just trying to teach you something. They are trying to inspire you to act. So, ask yourself: What do you want the audience to do as a result of hearing your talk?
- Use less single-use plastic?
- Treat the elderly with more compassion?
- Design a more inclusive community?
- Listen better?
If you can’t answer that, keep thinking!
And if you do have a great “Big Idea”? Here’s what you should ask YOURSELF before you hit SEND on your application or say YES to an invitation.
Is this the right time for you?
Our speakers tell us all the time that giving a TEDx talk was one of the most satisfying things they’ve ever done in their life—and also one of the hardest. As a producer, I NEVER push someone to give a TEDx talk—even if I really love them. You have to really want it.
Have a new baby or a new job? This is not the right time. Getting married or divorced? No, again. Traveling a lot during the three months leading up to the event? Not good. Preparing for a TED talk is a part-time job. So, be honest with yourself. Do you have the time to give to this? If not, it’s so much better to wait until you can devote yourself to the process.
It’s also not the right time if you’re not ready—emotionally or research-wise.
You’re not ready to talk about a particular trauma if you are still processing it. While it’s good to show emotion on the stage, it’s NOT good to have an emotional breakdown, as our team had to learn the hard way. Give yourself the time you need to process and come back when you’re ready.
You’re also not ready if you haven’t done enough research. We had a speaker a few years ago who wanted to talk about how we can use technology to get more teens excited about volunteering. He had just created an interesting teen-friendly platform that he was testing in high schools around New Hampshire. Great idea, but he just didn’t have the data to talk about it yet. Another year!
Final thoughts
If you can check all the boxes and wholeheartedly answer, “Yes, I can devote myself to this,” it might be your year. Help yourself by making the best possible impression you can. Make sure you have answered all the questions fully, get feedback from your most honest friend, and for the love of God, check your work! One of our speakers from this year almost missed his invitation to audition because he misspelled his email address.
About the author
Anna Goldsmith is a professional writer with The Hired Pens and the producer of TEDxPortsmouth, one of the largest and most successful TEDx events in the country. The speakers she’s worked with have been recognized across TED platforms and around the world. If you would like to have a one-on-one session with Anna to talk about your idea or join one of her Big Idea workshops, get in touch at anna@thehiredpens.com.
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