A big question for every TEDx host: "How can I get the talks from my TEDx event chosen for the front page of TED.com." Slides contain some suggestions for making great talks, 36 real reasons that TEDx talks haven't been chosen, and a look at the internal TED.com screening and scheduling processes. Given to 90 TEDx hosts during a tour of Long Beach, on Monday, 2/26/13.

2. I love posting
TEDx talks on TED.com.

3. 1,446 TED Talks on TED.com ...

4. ... 246 TEDx talks on TED.com ...

5. ~1 in 6 talks on TED.com
come from
a TEDx event.

6. ... from 25,500+ TEDx talks

7. ~1 in 100 TEDx talks
are featured on
the TED.com homepage.

8. What am I looking for?

9. An idea I need to hear:

10. Tell me about new research.

11. Tell me a story of creativity.

12. Tell me about myself.

13. Tell me how I can change the world.

14. Confident.
Well-prepared.
Authentic.
Speaking to an audience.

15. “Speaking to an audience”:
This is where you, the host and
rehearsal partner, come in.

16. Why do people love
a great TED Talk?
One reason: A speaker
who truly cares
that the audience understands.

17. Work with your speakers.

18. They are speaking at TEDx
because they want to give
the talk of their lives.

19. So as you listen, ask yourself:

20. Is the speaker talking to you
(not at you)?
Can you follow the information
in the order it’s presented?
Do you need more context, more
backstory (or less)?

21. You are a partner in
making a great TEDx talk.

22. How does TED.com plan our
weekly schedule?

23. Sophisticated technology

25. 5 days, 5 themes.

26. Big idea Monday

27. Tech/design Tuesday

28. Storyteller Wednesday

29. Science Thursday

30. Entertainment Friday

31. How we find talks
on the TEDx channel.

32. First review.
(Paid interns watch ’em all!)

33. Group review.
(At least 2 editors screen.)

34. Final OK from media team.

35. It might seem like a lot of work.
But so is throwing a TEDx.
We are constantly impressed
and awed by what
the TEDx movement can do.

36. Why we might not choose
a TEDx talk
for the front page

37. The talk lacks a structure that would help viewers
remember the concepts in detail.
Might be too UK-centric.
He has a tendency to wander off from his main idea,
and add all kinds of details, sub-ideas and facts that
distract from his point and weaken the talk.

38. Although his stories are compelling, I don't think he had a
strong enough central idea to carry a TED Talk.
His central idea isn't explored deeply enough. To me, he
comes off as a bit of a hack.
It's interesting work, but the talk itself is very dull.

39. The shelf-life is too short (referencing many very
specific recent events), without being particularly
pressing.
The ideas -- though expressed well -- are not
particularly new.
It's an important issue, but it's not presented in a way
that delivers an "aha" moment.

40. It's more of a history lesson with perspective than an
idea talk per se.
It wasn't really framed as an idea until the end, and
didn't really hold together as an idea talk. It was more of
an informative rundown.
I liked this little talk, but have a feeling it will come off
as lightweight.
I found this talk to be scientifically reckless.

41. This is a personal story, which doesn't stand alone as a
TED Talk.
He doesn't manage to graft the story on to another
strong message or idea.
He gets to his point in the last 15 seconds.
A good, interesting talk, but doesn't feel as new for us.

42. Not sure the audio is salvageable.
The marshmallow test is now in the TED drinking game.
I'm a bit unconvinced by the evidence presented.
His delivery is captivating, but I don't hear anything new
or profound. It's a lot of idealistic rhetoric.

43. Unfocussed, but there's a strong nugget of a talk in
there.
Feels a bit too much like a sales pitch for his
foundation.
If only the video quality were better. Ends with a
blatant pitch.

44. This is all backward. He needed to start w/ the
examples, then go to the point.
The beginning's a bit shaky when he reads a bunch of
quotes.
I wish he had a stronger conclusion, because he really
just says, "get ready" and "let's work together," which
we've heard so many times before.

45. I feel like she's trying to be the next Brené Brown, but
the level of thought and analysis just isn't there.
Is he speaking to an audience that's so sheltered and
affluent that they weren't aware of this?
I think this presenter has a good TED Talk in him.
Interesting information but could have been presented
more thoughtfully.

46. Teach passion blah blah.
Decent info, but his effort to follow the “TED format”
and be “inspiring” make this really awkward and
unnatural.
He uses a lot of lecture-speak.

47. ... saying "we should collaborate and build a community and be a
village" with no concrete examples of what to do.
I wish he'd taken a deep dive on one of the most promising
things his organization is trying, instead of giving such a surface
look at so many.
Talks for 10 minutes, posits one idea. Could have done the whole
thing in 2 minutes.

48. on.ted.com/SpeakerGuide

49. 2 silly reasons to have your talk
not make it.

50. Unfixable audio.

51. Reads notes off an iPad.

52. TEDx matters.

53. The very first TEDx in my hometown, Toledo, Ohio, happened
on Thursday, September 20, 2012. People walked away
changed, excited, aware.
To put this in context: Forbes calls Toledo one of America’s
Top 10 “Most Miserable Cities.”
Someone tweeted early in the week: "TEDxToledo? Toledo
doesn't seem like a TED Talks kind of town."
But it was.

54. Thank you for all you do!