WELCOME BACK BABY
Hello readers, welcome back to school for those who are students, and welcome back to THE TEDxOhioStateUniversity blog! Boy do we have some exciting things coming your way this year.
After a long year of everything being online, I think it’s safe to say that we were all ready for things to return to some type of normalcy. We were ready for our classes to go back to being in person so we could actually learn, ready for clubs to start up again so we could feel involved on campus, and most of all, we were ready for TEDxOhioStateUniversity to pick up its regularly scheduled in person events and usual shenanigans. Well, I am excited to tell you that with the resumption of meetings in person, we are officially planning to have an in-person event in the spring, along with in person salon events throughout the year.
On that note, I am also excited to announce that both our speaker nominations and speaker applications are live! If you or anyone you know has any amazing ideas worth spreading, you should apply to be a speaker in our Spring 2022 main event. Or, if you don’t think you’re cut out to give a TED talk but know someone who might be, fill out a nomination form to give that person the opportunity to share their passion on the big stage.
SOME COMMON QUESTIONS
Now, you may have a lot of questions, so I’ll start by trying to clear up some confusion you may have about our speaker applications.
Who can apply to be a speaker/performer?
Anyone affiliated with Ohio State University can give a talk at our main event. This includes your professors, TAs, staff, researchers, students, and other faculty members who you think would give a great talk about their experiences and ideas. We also have opportunities for performers to make an appearance on stage, so musical groups and performing groups are also included in this list!
How do I know if I/someone I know would be a good speaker?
The possibilities for TED talks are endless. If you have a particular subject you are passionate about, whether it be a hobby, research, or an educational/social topic, you are most likely a fantastic candidate to spread your ideas at our event.
How do I know that my ideas are really worth spreading?
Here are a list of criteria you can use to judge whether you picked a good TED talk topic:
Do you have a strong idea that you are passionate about?
Do you have a good understanding of your topic? And can you provide personal experiences and/or important information about said topic?
Can you communicate a clear idea from your topic? We will help you develop a through-line, but you have to come ready with the idea you want to communicate to others.
Are you familiar with the format of TED talks? This might possibly be the most important step to beginning the creation of your talk, you want to make sure your topic can be modeled after the style of a TED talk.
Do you have charisma? Can you use this charisma to create a truly engaging talk about your subject? The key to an audience’s heart is enthusiasm about what you’re talking about, so don’t be afraid to show that on stage!
And of course,
6. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!!!
We will have content coaches helping you every step of the way, so seriously, if you have an idea you really want to share with others, do not be afraid to apply and see what happens. This could be one of the best experiences you will have at Ohio State!
If you have additional questions, don’t be afraid to reach out to our org. Both our nominations and speaker applications can be found here on our website, or in the bios of our social media platforms @tedxohiostateu. Nominations close on OCTOBER 20 and speaker applications close on OCTOBER 22. We can’t wait to hear your idea worth spreading!
Here’s to an amazing year after all we’ve been through. Thanks for reading. :)