Welcome back readers! Today is a special day because speaker nominations are open and ready for you. Here at TEDxOhioStateUniversity, we hold an annual TEDx conference in the spring where we select speakers who share their ideas worth spreading with the Ohio State community. Our speakers are selected based on two methods: first being speaker nominations and second being applications. In this post, we’ll layout the differing methods used to acquire speakers, who can apply, and the yays and nays associated with the application process!
Nominate anyone who has an idea worth spreading!
The first way to get Ohio State affiliates on our stage is to nominate them. Know of a professor that blew your mind in and/or outside of the classroom? Nominate them! Do you think your friend has an idea worth sharing? Nominate them! Nominations are the chance for you to decide who should be on our stage. Your nominations allow us to reach out to potential speakers and see if their ideas align with the values of TEDx.
Wonder why you’ve gotten nominated? It means you were chosen because people want to hear what you have to say. The Ohio State community has nominated a lot of the people who have appeared on our stage. Therefore, if you know anyone who deserves a platform to share what they have to say, nominate them TODAY!
Apply to be a speaker
Another way for potential speakers to appear on our radar is through speaker applications. Unlike the nomination form which is open today, applications don’t open until tomorrow, September 18th.
Do you believe you have an idea worth spreading? Apply to be a Spring 2020 TEDxOhioStateUniversity annual conference speaker. If you’re wondering what constitutes as an “idea worth spreading,” it is essentially anything that the world should hear. It could be anything, including development in research, a new perspective on various issues, a change in the way people interact, etc.
Who can apply? Anyone affiliated with Ohio State University is allowed to apply! All Ohio State affiliates are welcome: undergraduate students, graduate students, staff, alumni, professors, faculty, etc. If you fall into the applicable buckets, apply!
If we could shout this from the rooftops, we would: performers SHOULD apply! A TED talk is not a lecture, it’s a conversation, and mediums of conversation also fall into the creative realm of presentation! Singers, dancers, entertainers, instrumentalists, and more are welcome on our stage. The only thing we ask of performers is that their performance has to have an important underlying message. Past performances included: spoken word poet, Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine, who conveyed her struggles identifying as an Arab American in the West through a blend of singing and spoken word. Also, a dance performance illustrating the realities, struggles, and emotions associated with being an immigrant woman with an accent. TEDxOhioStateUniversity encourages entertainment-based TED talks because entertainment is what the “E” in TED stands for!
Whether you utilize entertainment or lecture-based methods to convey your idea worth spreading, apply to be a speaker at our annual conference in the spring. Applications close October 13th, so be swift with your application!
What we’re looking for:
We understand it may be daunting to put yourself out there to a big audience, but we’re looking for passionate and excited people who want to share their ideas. Our content coaches will help you along the way to perfect your message, so don’t be discouraged if you’re nervous about the presentation aspect of the talk; we want you to apply with an idea that people WANT to listen to.
Yays and Nays for applicants!
Yays
Have a strong idea.
Have stories/personal relevance.
Show enthusiasm.
Be clear in your idea; we’ll help you along the way to develop the presentation of you’re idea, but we WON’T provide you with an idea!
Be familiar with TED talks in general. Familiarize around the general format of TED talks to see if a TEDx event fits your style.
Major Nays
Don’t apply to sell something. We are giving you a platform to share promising idea, we’re not giving you an HSN moment on stage.
Don’t show off your success.
Don’t be super vague.
Don’t aim to be super inspirational. A TED talk is a conversation where inspiration organically seeps from the structure of the conversation. Forcing inspirational prose will only make your talk seem disingenuous.
Know anyone who has an idea worth spreading, nominate them today! Do you have an idea worth spreading and fit all the “yays” listed above, apply tomorrow (September 18th). Applications can be found in the bios of our social media, @tedxohiostateu, or apply via our website!