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Rawan Al-Wazzan

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What guidelines would you give someone preparing a TEDx talk?

TED Community, I’ve attended a number of independently organized TEDx events and seen plenty on YouTube and was disappointed to find out that some talks presented weren’t TED material. They lacked the ‘idea worth spreading’ element. What would you suggest to a speaker who’s preparing to deliver a TEDx talk in order for them to make sure their talk is up to standards?

Topics: TEDx Talks ideas worth spreading
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Closing Statement from Rawan Al-Wazzan

Don't you just love the TED Community?!

Some great feedback. Thank you Fritzie Reisner, Deborah Zotian, Kashaf Mamoon, Edward Long, Shariq Hashme, Tofig Ahmed, Abhinandan Chatterjee, Johnson Tam-Lit, Philip Kanoutos, Jenoye Cole, Lucas Avelleda, Asha de Vos, JenniferAnne McCool, Carlos Miranda Levy, Bharath Kumar Kunjibettu, Lesley Rickard, Edmond Hui, and Tosca Killoran. :)

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    Fritzie Reisner 100+

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    Apr 9 2012: The most straightforward approach is for the TEDx organizer to choose only speakers who have demonstrated through their speaking, action, or writing that they have novel ideas worth spreading. Everyone has ideas, but not everyone has novel ideas that are of sufficient public importance or potentially broad impact to be worth spreading widely.There is another case as well. Sometimes a message is not novel but the audience who should hear it would find it more persuasive to hear it from someone they particularly respect or who can deliver it very effectively. A message identical to Mom's might spread better among youth, for example, if it is articulated by an admired political figure, sports figure, or musician.
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      Rawan Al-Wazzan

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      TED Translator
      Apr 9 2012: I agree! Great points, Fritzie.
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      Deborah Zotian

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      Apr 18 2012: Fritzie, what if it is someone who has never presented before? How would you know if they have an idea worth spreading?

      I would think there are some type of guidelines for the conference committee (or TED in general) to have to be sure the presenters have something of interest to the expected audience?
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        Fritzie Reisner 100+

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        Apr 18 2012: Before scheduling speakers for a conference, potential speakers often submit abstracts or some sort of text to be reviewed by whoever hosts the conference. The panel who selects the speakers chooses from among the proposals.

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