209. My Top 5 Tedx Speaker Tips
Is a Tedx Talk on your bucket list?
As a Tedx Speaker Coach, I'm sharing my top 5 tips for speakers -
1. Know your one-line key message.
2. Consider what to wear.
3. Do a voice warm-up.
4. Use the mic drop speech inflection pattern.
5. Have your safety line ready.
Tune in for the full explanation.
Transcript
Is a Tedx talk on your bucket list?
If you don’t know what a Tedx Talk is, it’s basically an idea worth spreading, put into speech form.
This episode is not about the ins and outs of what a Tedx is and how to apply and all of that. I do have a coaching call inside Soul Speakers called Everything you need to know about Tedx – so if you’re interested I would highly recommend joining my group program Soul Speakers, not just so you can watch that call – which also has checklists and worksheets to guide you for how to put your Tedx together.. it also has loads of resources about how to deliver a great Tedx Talk, because it’s the content AND the delivery that makes a great talk.
And this is really my role as Speaker Coach for Tedx. I’ve worked with a number of different events and this Saturday August 10th (depending on when you’re tuning in to this) it is TedxUQ – which is the University of Queensland. So I’ve been working with the speakers to get them all prepared and today I thought it would be helpful to share with you the top 5 tips I share with the speakers on the red circle.
Now these apply to any stage speech so if Tedx doesn’t float your boat, all good, stay tuned and you’ll get heaps of value.
So in my experience Tedx speakers always have THREE main things they’re worried about.
Number one – MEMORISATION – how on earth am I going to remember this 10, 15, 18 minute speech without notes?!
Number two – NERVES – how am I going to control my heart pounding and my tummy doing flips and my brain going blank before I walk out.
And number three – ENGAGEMENT – how am I going to keep the audience interested in what I’m saying?
And we cover all these areas. I also cover these in Soul Speakers, so if you’re hearing those points and saying yes that’s me, yes that’s me, then join my group program Soul Speakers, and learn the practical strategies to not have them as worries anymore.
We have a masterclass on how to memorise like a pro
There’s a coaching call on how to engage with your voice.
And there’s the complete version of the Magnetic Voice Formula online course which takes you through how to find your authentic, powerful impactful voice.
The mini version, The Magnetic Voice Formula covers the basic for how to manage your nerves. It’s only $47 and all those links are in the shownotes.
Like I always say, this podcast is great for information, but if you want transformation and actually embody the shifts, you gotta take action.
Ok so today I’ve picked out 5 of the top tips for Tedx Speakers.
Number One – Know your one-line key message.
What is the speech about …. In one line.
If you can’t do this, the audience won’t be clear on what it’s about either.
In Soul speakers I have a whole questionnaire which helps you get clear on what this is, and of course with my private clients and those in Soul Speakers Advanced, the mastermind program, I go through this whole process with you one on one.
Tip number two – and I get a bit of push back on this, you can say it’s not important you can say people only care about what you say … and that’s a lie. People SEE you before they hear you so you MUST think about what you’re wearing.
Now with Tedx, you need to think about the background. So if it’s a black curtain you probably don’t want black, do you want red on the red circle. Wear something you can move in, but if you tend to shake you don’t want anything too flimsy and flowy to show the shake, you also don’t want any sweating or creasing.. and with Tedx being filmed in High Definition you want your clothes to be looking brand new.
And often when I speak to Tedx speakers or anyone before a speech and I ask what are you wearing, ofthen they say I haven’t even thought about it. Here’s the tip, think about it. What you wear affects the way you feel, the way the audience perceives you and also in the case of Tedx the quality of the recording.
Number three – DO A VOICE WARM-UP.
Not warming up your voice before a speech is like not warming up your body before an Olympic running race. You won’t be at your strongest and you run the risk of doing yourself an injury. Believe me what you invest in voice coaching now, is a fraction of what you’ll need to spend at a doctor’s surgery if your voice becomes dysfunctional.
So I take the speakers through a warm-up. There’s warm ups in Soul Speakers, and I also did a podcast episode called The Ultimate Voice Warmup back in episode 158.
We’re up to number four – use the mic drop speech inflection pattern. Which is a rising inflection followed by a pause, then the next part shoots out like a dart towards a dart board. So instead of this important information. You get this important information. It’s such an effective inflection pattern to use. Again these are the kind of game changing strategies I help you nail in Soul Speakers and I also went through this in ep160 of That Voice Podcast.
And finally number 5 – this is linked to the fear around memorisation and it’s to have a safety line. This is a line that works anywhere in the speech and you can pull it out anytime you lose your place. It could be your key message, you could use the mic drop inflection pattern and by the time you’re at the end of it… you’ll know your place and the audience is none the wiser.
So there you have it, know your one line key message, consider what you’re wearing, do a voice warm-up, use the mic drop inflection pattern on key moments in your talk and have your safety line ready to go.
Plenty more tips where these came from in Soul Speakers, so if you found today’s episode useful, come and learn how to implement them inside the program.
And if you’re listening to this before August 10th, and you’re in Brisbane. I’d encourage you to grab a ticket for TedxUQ. I’ll be there with one of my private clients (another perk of working with me one on one, you get invited to events for free), and it’s great way to see fantastic speakers in action. And it goes without saying if you want to do a Tedx, GO to a Tedx event.