Speaker Guide EN
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This document provides guidance to speakers preparing a talk for TEDxXiguan on developing an idea, outlining the talk, and creating a script. It discusses the TED Talk format of being under 18 minutes and focusing on communicating one clear idea. The speaker is advised to craft an introduction that draws the audience in, use evidence to explain their idea in the body, and conclude by addressing how the idea could impact the audience. Creating an outline and script will help refine the talk and ensure it has a clear structure that gets the idea across effectively. The speaker should reach out for feedback before moving to the next step in preparation.
Speaker Guide EN
- 2. 2 3 Introduction Theme Hello! We’re glad to have you on board to work on this talk, which we hope will deliver your idea successfully to our audience and allow them to act on it. In order to achieve this, we’ll work together closely to ensure that your idea will be delivered as best it possibly can be at the event. You are now reading a tried-and- tested guide that will take you through the process of preparing and refining your talk, ensuring it will be a first class experience for everyone. It is important that you follow the steps in sequence, and don’t jump to next step before finishing the current one. Please don’t feel you’re on your own at any stage of the preparation. First of all, there are at least 10 other potential speakers also reading this and preparing their own talks to make this an intellectually stimulating event. And least of all, don’t forget us; we are here to help, and you’re welcome to contact us via the info at end of this document at any time. Finally, on behalf of the whole team, welcome to TEDxXiguan. Best regards, Jimmy Jimmy Tan Curator of TEDxXiguan Nothing lasts forever, as we know from history. We are in a special era where most of the things around us seems to be working just fine. And it’s easy for us to feel content with what we have. However, human mobility wouldn’t have leapt forward if nobody thought about flying, and we simply continued to develop cars that ran faster. It’s not about tearing down what we have, it’s about coming at it from a new angle, and reevaluating what we take for granted. As you prepare your TEDxXiguan talk, please do not feel constrained by this theme or that you have to mention the theme directly in your talk. One of the great things about TEDx is that it covers so many different fields in one event, we are sure the audience will find their own understanding of Constructive Disruption within your particular talk. Constructive Disruption
- 3. 4 5 Understand the format (1 day) The “TED Talk” Your idea will be in the classic “TED Talk” format. But what is the “TED Talk” format? TED Talks are a showcase for speakers presenting well-formed ideas under 18 minutes. If you haven’t seen a TED Talk, go to TED. com and watch at least one. Like this one (may be the most watched TED Talk of all time) Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? For your talk, we suggest you to keep it under 16 minutes or shorter. Why so short? Because it works the best with people’s attention span and it forces the speakers (which is you) to refine the talk to the very essentials and in its best format. A great idea can be even delivered under 5 minutes, like this one: Joe Smith: How to use a paper towel? Develop an idea (3 days) What makes a good idea for a talk? Like a good magazine article, 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. Do I need to be an expert on my topic? You do not need to be the world’s foremost expert on the topic, but you do have to be an expert. Please remember that the audience relies on you to give accurate information, so whatever you say in your talk, please fact-check — especially facts you may take Step 1 Step 2 Before next step: Write to your contact person from TEDxXiguan team & say something like this: Hey, I have watched a few TED Talks and fully understood the “TED Talk” format, I am now entering into Step 2. for granted: statistics, historical anecdotes, scientific stats. If you’re drawing an example from a discipline that is not your main area of knowledge, use research from widely accepted and peer-reviewed sources, and, if at all possible, consult with experts directly. Is my idea ready? Write your idea down in one or two sentences. Ask yourself three questions: Is my idea new? Are you telling people something you’re pretty sure they have not heard before? Is it interesting? Think about how your idea might apply to a room full of varied kinds of people. Who might be interested in it? Is it factual and realistic? If you are presenting new research, make sure your idea is backed by data and peer- reviewed. If you are presenting a call to action, make sure it can be executed by members of your audience. If you answered “no” to any of these questions, refine your idea. Ask someone you respect who doesn’t work in your field, and if they answer “no” to any of these questions, refine your idea. If your TEDx event organizing team answers “no” to any of these questions, refine your idea.
- 4. 6 7 Before next step: Write to your contact person from TEDxXiguan team in one or two sentences, how would you describe your idea. We will get back to you within 24 hrs receiving your notice and come back to you with one of the following: • Great, let’s go with that • Or ask you to elaborate a little more on your idea • Or challenge your idea with a few more questions Once we are all confident with your idea, move onto Step 3. Step 3 Make an outline and script (2 days + 7 days) This is the most important step in preparation to your talk, so please turn on your concentration mode, read carefully. There are many theories on the best structure for a great presentation. Nancy Duarte presents a highly recommended TED talk on this subject: Nancy Duarte: The secret structure of great talks. There’s no single trick to it, but here is at least one structure that we’ve found to work particularly well: 1. Start by making your audience care, using a relatable example or an intriguing idea. 2. Explain your idea clearly and with conviction. 3. Describe your evidence and how and why your idea could be implemented. 4. End by addressing how your idea could affect your audience if they were to accept it. Whatever structure you decide on, remember: 1. The primary goal of your talk is to communicate an idea effectively, not to tell a story or to evoke emotions. These are tools, not an end in themselves. 2. Your structure should be invisible to the audience. In other words, don’t talk about how you’re going to talk about your topic – just talk about it! Introduction A strong introduction is crucial. • Draw in your audience members with something they care about. • If it’s a topic the general TED audience thinks about a lot, start with a clear statement of what the idea is. • If it’s a field they never think about, start off by invoking something they do think about a lot and relate that concept to your idea. • If the idea is something fun, but not something the audience would ever think about, open with a surprising and cool fact or declaration of relevance (not a statistic!). • If it’s a heavy topic, find an understated and frank way to get off the ground; don’t force people to feel emotional. • Get your idea out as quickly as possible. • Don’t focus too much on yourself. • Don’t open with a string of statistics. Body In presenting your topic and evidence: • Make a list of all the evidence you want to use: Think about items that your audience already knows about and the things you’ll need to convince
- 5. 8 9 them of. • Order all of the items in your list based on what a person needs to know before they can understand the next point, and from least to most exciting. Now cut out everything you possibly can without losing the integrity of your argument. You will most likely need to cut things that you think are important. • Consider making this list with a trusted friend, someone who isn’t an expert in your field. • Spend more time on new information: If your audience needs to be reminded of old or common information, be brief. • Use empirical evidence, and limit anecdotal evidence. • Don’t use too much jargon, or explain new terminology. • (Respectfully) address any controversies in your claims, including legitimate counter- arguments, reasons you might be wrong, or doubts your audience might have about your idea. • Don’t let citations interrupt the flow of your explanation: Save them for after you’ve made your point, or place them in the fine print of your slides. • Slides: Note anything in your outline that is best expressed visually and plan accordingly in your script. See Step 4. Conclusion • Find a landing point in your conclusion that will leave your audience feeling positive toward you and your idea’s chances for success. Don’t use your conclusion to simply summarize what you’ve already said; tell your audience how your idea might affect their lives if it’s implemented. • Avoid ending with a pitch (such as soliciting funds, showing a book cover, using corporate logos). • If appropriate, give your audience a call to action. Script Once you’re settled on your outline, start writing a script. Be concise, but write in a way that feels natural to you. Use present tense and strong, interesting verbs. Remember: Limit your talk to just one major idea. Ideas are complex things; you need to slash back your content so that you can focus on the single idea you’re most passionate about, and give yourself a chance to explain that one thing properly. You have to give context, share examples, make it vivid. Don’t be afraid that you can’t say everything you want to say on stage, this certainly will not be your only chance to give a TEDx talk. Give your listeners a reason to care. Before you can start building things inside the minds of your audience, you have to get their permission to welcome you in. And the main tool to achieve that? Curiosity. Stir your audience’s curiosity. Use intriguing, provocative questions to identify why something doesn’t make sense and needs explaining. If you can reveal a disconnection in someone’s worldview, they’ll feel the need to bridge that knowledge gap. And once you’ve sparked that desire, it will be so much easier to start building your idea. Build your idea, piece by piece, out of concepts that your audience already understands. You use the power of language to weave together concepts that already exist in your listeners’ minds -- but not your language, their language. You start where they are. The speakers often forget that many of the terms and concepts they live with are completely unfamiliar to their audiences. Now, metaphors can play a crucial role in showing how the pieces fit together, because they reveal the desired shape of the pattern, based on an idea that the listener already understands. Make your idea worth sharing. Ask yourself the question: “Who does this idea benefit?” You need to be honest with the answer. If the idea only serves you or your organization, then, we are sorry to say, it’s probably not worth sharing. The audience will see right through you. But if you believe that the idea has the potential to brighten up someone else’s day or change someone else’s perspective for the better or inspire someone to do something differently, then you have the core ingredient to a truly great talk, one that can be a gift to them and to all of us. Watch this video by TED’s Curator Chris Anderson on TED’s secret to great public speaking. Before next step: Once you are happy with your outline, send it to your contact person from TEDxXiguan team. Then you can start working on your script. Once you are happy with your script and have read it through several times, send it to your contact person from TEDxXiguan team. We will get back to you with one of the following: • Great, this is the best script we can imagine • Or make some suggestions on how to improve it • Or schedule an online discussion with you
- 6. 10 11 Step 4 Create slides (4 days) Should I use slides? Slides can be helpful for the audience, but they are by no means necessary or relevant to every talk. Ask yourself: Would my slides help and clarify information for the audience, or would they distract and confuse them? Some great examples of slides can be found in the talks by Dan Phillips, Jarrett Krosoczka and Rick Guidotti on TED.com. The most important rule for slides: Keep it simple. I have never made slides before, where do I start? Assess your own skill level. You can make great simple slides if you stick to photographic images, running edge-to-edge. If your slide ideas are more complex and involve type, consider working with a designer. Contact your contact person from TEDxXiguan team if you need any help. What goes in my slides? • Images and photos: To help the audience remember a person, place or thing you mention, you might use images or photos. • People will understand that the images represent what you’re saying, so there is no need to verbally describe the images onscreen. • Graphs and infographics • Keep graphs visually clear, even if the content is complex. Each graph should make only one point. • No slide should support more than one point. What should the slides look like? • Use as little text as possible -- if your audience is reading, they are not listening. • Avoid using bullet points. Consider putting different points on different slides. How should the slides be formatted? • The slides resolution should be at least 1920x1080 pixels at a 16:9 aspect ratio. • Use the broadcast-safe zones in PowerPoint or Keynote. Don’t put any information or visuals in the far corners of your slides. • Use font size 42 points or larger. • Choose a common sans serif font (like Helvetica or Verdana) over a serif font (like Times). • If you use a custom font, make sure to send it to us ahead of time, with your slides. I want to use an image I found off Google Image Search but I don’t know where it came from. Don’t. This is important: Only use images that you own or have permission to use. If you use an image under a Creative Commons license, cite the source at the bottom of your slide. If you need any help finding suitable pictures, please contact your contact person from TEDxXiguan team. Before next step: Send your slides to your contact person from TEDxXiguan team, we might • Do no changes to your slides be- cause it’s perfect • Give some suggestions on how to improve it Once you sent, you can start on Step 5
- 7. 12 13 Step 5 Rehearse (14 days) I’ve said my talk once in my head. Is that enough? Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! We can’t stress this enough. Rehearse until you’re completely comfortable in front of other people: different groups of people, people you love, people you fear, small groups, large groups, peers, people who aren’t experts in your field. Listen to the criticisms and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. If someone says you sound “over-rehearsed,” this actually means you sound stilted and unnatural. Keep rehearsing, and focus on talking like you’re speaking to just one person in a spontaneous one-way conversation. Timing Time yourself. Practice with the clock winding down in front of you. Do it until you get the timing right every time. Posture Practice standing still, planted firmly in one spot on stage. Have a friend watch you and stop you from pacing back and forth or shifting your weight from leg to leg. Small steps to take in this big step: 1. Rehearse alone, until you can give you talk while you are doing something else also consume headspace, for example, cooking. 2. Rehearse in front of family or close friends, and ask them for their honest and constructive feedback. They are the people who know you best, it should be easy for them to get your idea instantly. 3. Schedule a rehearsal with the TEDxXiguan team, if you are not in Guangzhou, your rehearsal can be done online. After this, we might decide to: • Schedule another rehearsal with you in about a week with some suggestions • That your talk is in good shape and ready for next step 4. On stage rehearsal. This will happen one day before the actual event. At this point we should be very confident with the content already, it will be only for you to get familiar with the stage, and for our technical team to get familiar with your talk. Once you have ticked all of above, well done! You have completed preparing and now, take a deep breath and relax, it will be a great talk. Your support team Speaker Team Jimmy Tan Curator jimmy@tedxxiguan.com +86 185 2033 2307 Nana Law Content Producer nana@tedxxiguan.com +86 159 2035 0935 For other matters: Social Media: Vivian Lu Media Director vivian@tedxxiguan.com +86 186 6601 9161 Technical: Darius Jiang Technical Director darius@tedxxiguan.com +86 134 2756 1183 Partnership: Claire Cai Partnership Director claire@tedxxiguan.com +86 138 1879 4818