How to Deliver a TED Talk

TED: “Technology, Entertainment and Design”

TED, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing forward-thinking concepts and practices from the arenas of technology, entertainment and design, organizes “exclusive conferences” and posts presentations from those conferences online for free viewing. Each TED Talk takes place in front of a live audience and must take 18 minutes or less. The world’s most successful entrepreneurs, most brilliant scientists and most famous pop stars have all given TED Talks, as have thousands of lesser-known, hardworking people. You can tell your own inspirational tales at TED – or anywhere – if you can harness and share your emotions in a compelling narrative.

Have you struggled to overcome an obstacle? Have you persevered despite disaster? Has something or someone you love been taken from you? Can you recount an ordinary drama in an “extraordinary story”? To reach listeners’ hearts and minds, harness your story’s feelings, inspiration and impact, and present them in an organized, cogent structure.

The “Ten Commandments”

TED provides a list of do’s and don’ts – its Ten Commandments of content and delivery. This set of “...