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How to Land a TEDx Talk: From Idea to Application

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Release Date: 05/12/2025

Grow Your Speaking Career by Escaping the Expert Trap [Case Study]

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in the "expert trap" - sharing lots of great information, but not quite connecting with your audience the way you want to? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Teri DeLucca, founder of Impact Early Education and a graduate of our Thought Leader Academy, about how she made the bold leap from academic researcher and fact-based presenter to transformational speaker and sought-after thought leader. Teri has not one, but TWO PhDs (yes, you read that right!), and like many high-achieving women, she found comfort in data and research. But as she began training preschool...

How to Turn Your Business Talk into a Lead-Gen Machine [Case Study]

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

If you're using speaking for lead generation, you won’t want to miss this episode. I’m joined by Danielle Hayden, CEO of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., who came to me for a VIP Day to create a new signature talk. Like many entrepreneurs, Danielle had been speaking often, but she knew she was overloading her audience with too much information and not enough transformation. In this conversation, we pull back the curtain on the process we used to refine her message, develop her thought leadership, and craft a presentation that truly connects - with results to prove it. You’ll learn: Why...

*Not* Your Typical Corporate Presentations: Live Signature Talks from Thought Leader Academy Grads

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

We believe that every presentation, whether internal or external, at a conference or at a board meeting, has the power to shift how your audience views a topic and the positive changes that can come as a result. It’s not just about delivering information – it’s about shifting perspectives, sparking new ideas, and inspiring action. This episode is the audio from a live show we did with two of our recent Thought Leader Academy grads: Dr. Bonnie Boles and Denise Cárdenas López. Both Bonnie and Denise are executives at companies and often present both internally to team members as...

Turn Your Stories Into Impactful Messages: Live Signature Talks from Our Thought Leader Academy Grads

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

The key to a powerful presentation isn’t just telling stories – it’s uncovering the lessons within them. When you share a personal experience or an impactful moment, you’re not just recounting events; you’re inviting your audience to see the world through your eyes, to feel what you felt, and to learn from what you lived. Your stories become more than just a narrative – they can spark change in the hearts and minds of your audience. This episode is the audio from a live show we did with three of our recent Thought Leader Academy grads: Moe Boles, Melinda Hrynewycz, and Sara...

From Blank Page to On Stage: What It’s Like to Create and Practice a Talk in One Day

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

What if you could go from a completely blank page - or in this case, a blank poster board - to mapping out and practicing your signature talk… all in just one day? That’s exactly what happened at our recent in-person Speaking Accelerator Workshop in Orlando, and in this episode, you’ll hear directly from three of the incredible women who participated: Lesline Pittman, Monica Mitchell, and Dr. Emma Jones. You’ll get the behind-the-scenes scoop on what it’s like to go from idea to delivery in a single day (yes, it’s totally possible!) - including the unexpected improv exercises,...

AI Needs Women: Why Your Voice Matters to Shape the Present and the Future

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

I vividly remember the day after Christmas 2022. Not because I was relaxing, but because I was at my laptop, updating my university courses and diving headfirst into AI tools for my business and podcast. ChatGPT had just launched, and I knew instantly: this was different. This wasn’t just another tech trend; this was a transformation. In this episode, I share the talk I recently delivered at the ElleX Summit, where I wove together history, technology, and the urgent need for women’s voices in AI. From Ada Lovelace and the women of NASA to Eleanor Roosevelt and the Brontë sisters, women...

Behind the Scenes of My AI-Powered Business: Real-World Use Cases

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Ever wish you had an extra set of hands - or better yet, an AI assistant - to take care of all those repetitive tasks in your business? In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes to share the exact AI-powered workflows I’ve built and now rely on every week at Speaking Your Brand. From automating my podcast production (yes, even these show notes!) to cloning my voice for a brand-new companion podcast, you’ll get a sense at what’s possible - and what's already working. I walk you through real-world examples of how I’m using AI to: Save time with automated content workflows ...

AI Is Already Impacting Your Business – Here are 4 Innovative Ways to Leverage It

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

AI isn’t just on the horizon - it’s already here, reshaping how we work, connect, and show up in our businesses, no matter what industry you’re in. In this episode, I share how AI has fundamentally changed how I run Speaking Your Brand, well beyond using tools like ChatGPT (though I use that too!). I walk you through 4 powerful questions, originally posed by Wharton professor Ethan Mollick, that I’ve been reflecting on deeply and that can help you rethink your own services, content, and visibility. You’ll hear: What I used to do in my business that AI now does better (and...

Why Your Tech Presentations Aren’t Landing - and How to Fix Them

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

You’ve packed your presentation with data, insights, and value — but your audience isn’t responding the way you hoped. If you’ve ever looked out and seen glazed-over eyes… or walked off stage and didn’t get the results you wanted, this episode is for you. As a former software developer and technology strategist who has presented at countless conferences and meetups, I’ve learned what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to making technical or detail-heavy presentations land with impact. If you’re in a technical field — technology, software, AI, science, healthcare,...

What Giving a TED-Style Talk Revealed About Us as Speakers

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Have you ever wondered what it really takes to create, practice for, and deliver a powerful TED-style talk - especially one that’s only 8 minutes long? In this episode, I’m joined by Diane Diaz, our lead speaking coach at Speaking Your Brand, as we take you behind the scenes of our recent TED-style speaking experience. We were invited to be part of a live event called ElleX, hosted by a women’s entrepreneurship group at a local college. We had only one week to prepare our full talks for the audition! Diane and I share: How we came up with our topics and aligned them with the...

More Episodes

Have you ever imagined standing on a TEDx stage, spotlight on you, sharing a bold, transformative idea that resonates deeply with your audience?

TEDx talks are powerful platforms, not just for delivering information, but for sparking new perspectives, challenging assumptions, and inspiring change.

In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on what it takes to land a TEDx talk, based on my experience selecting speakers for TEDx events and coaching clients to develop their big ideas.

Whether you’re a seasoned speaker or just starting to find your voice, I’ll guide you through what you need to know, including:

The 3 essential elements every impactful TEDx talk needs (hint: it’s more than just your expertise)
How to craft your “idea worth spreading” that sparks curiosity and leads to transformation
Why your personal story is the key to standing out – and how to weave it into your message
The biggest mistake applicants make (and how to avoid it)
How to get noticed by TEDx organizers (it’s not just about your application)

If a TEDx talk is on your list of goals, this episode will give you the inside track on how to make it happen. I’ll share practical tips and strategies to move you from dreaming to doing, so you can take your place on the stage and share your message with the world.

(This episode originally aired as episode 361 on December 4, 2023.)

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/361/

Search for TEDx events: https://www.ted.com/tedx/events

Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/

Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/

Attend our 1-day in-person speaking workshop in Orlando: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/workshop-speaking/

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox

Listen to more episodes about TEDx talks.

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