tedxbaltimorewomen 2013 - speaker manual

TEDxBaltimoreWomen / December 5, 2013 / tedxbaltimore.com

TEDxBaltimoreWomen x = independently organized TED event

SPEAKER MANUAL Read these important pointers. We want you to give a breathtaking talk!

TEDxBaltimoreWomen will be held on: Thursday Dec 5, 2014 from 3pm – 730pm

Location: Women’s Exchange

333 N. Charles St Baltimore, MD 21218


YOUR TALK TELL A STORY. Be passionate. Make the audience laugh. Make them cry. Make them feel what you feel. Hand gestures, movements, demonstrations, and the pitch of your voice all contribute to the atmosphere that you want to convey UNDERSTAND THE FORM

• TEDx talks are short: you are allotted 12 minutes. The short format allows an audience to focus on one subject, your “idea worth spreading”

• Exceeding the allotted time slot will not improve your talk, and only steals time from the speakers following you

DEVELOP YOUR IDEA

• Your idea can be new or surprising, or challenge a belief your audience already has. Or it can be a great basic idea with a compelling new argument behind it

• An idea isn’t just a story or a list of facts. A good idea takes evidence or observations and draws a larger conclusion

• The audience relies on you to give accurate information. You are responsible for fact-‐checking the content of your talk

CRAFT YOUR NARRATIVE ON PAPER

• The primary goal of your talk is to communicate an idea effectively to a smart lay audience

• The introduction is crucial to “set the hook,” to draw in the audience and put them in the appropriate frame of mind

• The body of your talk should flow and converge on the conclusion • The conclusion allows you to leave the audience feeling positive toward you

and your idea • The use of slides is not required. Ask yourself: Would my slides help and

clarify information for the audience? REHEARSE YOUR TALK

• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! We can’t stress this enough • We are available to help you prepare your talk. Just ask us!


MULTIMEDIA If you choose to incorporate multimedia in your talk,

• You must submit slides/video to us by Monday December 2, 2013. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee you’ll be able to use them

• We only accept presentations in PowerPoint or Keynote format, videos in

mp4 format or DVD. Do not send us .pdf files, image files, or prezi links

• When creating your slides: use a 16:9 aspect ratio (Powerpoint) or 1280x720 or higher resolution (Keynote)

• Avoid the use of animated transitions between slides

• Use a sans-‐serif font (such as Helvetica) it is easier to read from a distance

• To avoid last-‐minute glitches with your presentation onsite, font files should

be embedded in your presentation file

• Use a dark background color. White or light colors project a very bright light in the background and distract (audience won’t focus on you!) and you will be a lot harder to photograph

• Less is more. Don’t cram too much on each slide. General rule of thumb: 2

slides per minute

• You must properly license all images for TED’s use in worldwide video and web distribution. Don’t grab images from the web unless they are clearly licensed under Creative Commons for use


WORDS OF WISDOM Watch Chris Anderson, “What makes a great talk, great”: http://goo.gl/Wqlujo Show us the real you. Share your passions, your dreams... and also your fears. Be vulnerable. Speak of failure as well as of success Make the complex plain. Don’t try to dazzle intellectually. Don’t speak in abstractions. Explain! Give examples. Tell stories. Be specific. While TED speakers are often acknowledged experts in their field, TED talks shine when they can explain important concepts to a bright but cross-‐disciplinary audience Connect with people’s emotions. Make us laugh! Make us cry! Don’t flaunt your ego. Don’t boast. It’s the surest way to switch everyone off No selling from the stage! Do not talk about your company or your organization. And don’t even think about pitching your products or services or asking for funding from the stage Feel free to comment on other speakers, to praise or criticize. Controversy energizes! Enthusiastic endorsement is powerful! You must end your talk on time. Otherwise you steal time from the speakers that follow you

THOUGHTS FROM AN ATTENDEE

• The bar for TED Talks is that someone gets on the stage and says “look at this interesting stuff I’m doing”

• The talks I talk about all week are the ones where the person gets on the stage and says “look at this interesting stuff I’m doing and here’s why I’m passionate about it”

• The talks I’ll talk about all year are the ones where the person gets up

there and says “look at this interesting stuff I’m doing and here’s why I’m passionate about it AND here’s why you should care about it”


TEN WAYS TO RUIN YOUR PRESENTATION from TED Curator, Chris Anderson

1. Take a really long time to explain what your talk is about 2. Speak slowly and dramatically. Why talk when you can orate? 3. Make sure you subtly let everyone know how important you are 4. Refer to your book repeatedly. Even better, quote yourself from it 5. Cram your slides with numerous text bullet points and multiple fonts 6. Use lots of unexplained technical jargon to make yourself sound smart 7. Speak at great length about the history of your organization and its glorious achievements 8. Don’t bother rehearsing to check how long your talk is running 9. Sound as if you’re reciting your talk from memory 10. Never, ever make eye contact with anyone in the audience

WE’RE HERE TO HELP The organizers of TEDxBaltimore are veteran TEDx’sters who know the essence of a great TEDx talk. Feel free to bounce ideas off of us. Need to practice your talk? Need a design consult? We’re here to help you! Sarge Salman [email protected]

tedxbaltimorewomen 2013 - speaker manual

Business