The TED stage has become the gold standard of public speaking.
Hopping onto the famed red circle of TED and TEDMED is like the dream stage for anyone with a story to tell. But it's also scary. Famous worldwide, TED is about spreading ideas worth spreading, ideas that make you sit up and take notice. It's unsurprising so many people want to "talk like TED".
TED is the head of the family. TED has professionally curated and prepared premium quality talks - TED Talks are always worth watching. TEDMED is curated and prepared to the same standard but is the medical and health arm of the TED family: TEDMED is TED for health geeks - attendees and speakers are clinicians, academics, health policy experts and health sector entrepreneurs. TEDx talks are independently organised events operated under license from TED. Exceptional talks from within the TED family are upgraded and displayed on TED.com.
Sitting down for breakfast, lunch or supper at TEDMED has always been mind-blowing for me. The default assumption is that whoever sits next to me is smarter than me - and that's just the audience.
I could give you lists of so many impressive attendees and speakers that I have met over my 6 years as a TEDMED speaker coach ... but here's an overview of just some of the people I have met, shared a drink or meal with or coached at TEDMED: White House advisors, Professors and academics from serious universities around the world working on groundbreaking health issues, the US Army Surgeon General, the US Surgeon General, hospital directors, entrepreneurs of exciting health tech startups and public health professionals - like the Director of Public Health for NYC - who I met at a TEDMED BBQ. As you do at TEDMED.
Some claim to know the TED speaker secret, but the experience gained preparing hundreds of people when they are under extreme pressure and helping them be amazing on stage is impossible to research. Everyone on the TEDMED stage is special and an expert - that's the default. But their talks are about to be exposed to health sector experts both in the room and online. TEDMED is live streamed to over 100 countries. The stakes are high.
Some TEDMED speakers have never spoken on stage before. Some academics have never spoken to an audience that can walk out before. Some geeks only speak geek. The TEDMED team is easily the least territorial or least turfy team I have ever worked with - our total focus is getting people on the circular, red carpet and doing whatever it takes for them to be amazing. The buzz of that shared goal - the speaker sharing ideas with the world from the centre of that iconic red circle: it is remarkable.
I sometimes only have 15 - 20 minutes to prep someone for a TEDMED speech - I have to be effective and fast. The content is usually locked weeks in advance - my job is their delivery. Making them magic. The final tweaks which add extra horsepower, fine-tune the timing, work on the body language and the facial expressions and the posture, inject "pizzazz", zero in on the key messages and emphasis, smooth out the last-minute jitters. On a film set, film directors work with actors. I work with speakers. Same job.
My ride as a TEDMED Speaker Coach since 2014 has been wild and a huge learning curve, filled with incredible moments. I have coached over 300 speakers, seen them deliver powerful talks that ripple. Many of the talks I’ve helped shape have made their way to the TED stage and are still rippling around the globe, racking up millions of views in the millions. They’re more than just good speeches; they’re thought starters, imagination sparkers, industry changers and sometimes, literal lifesavers.
Whether it's for the lights of the TEDMED stage, the green benches of the House of Commons or the intimidating stage at your next AGM, with every client comes a new challenge. I never know who’s going to step through the door and what story they have to tell, what their circumstances or personal challenges are or how their day is going. While I am still actively learning, over the 30+ years I have been preparing speakers for stages, I have been able to assemble a decent tool box of people and speaker-coaching experience which helps me provide a tailored and bespoke solution rather than a predictable copy-and-paste cut-out prescription.
Maybe I can help you prepare for when you are next on stage?