TEDxNashville Speaker Application
TEDxNashville is a 100% volunteer-run, 501c-3 non-profit organization. Our mission is to feature ideas from and for the Nashville area through a local series of events, but then to further elevate those ideas to the national and global stage by publishing those talks on the official TEDx YouTube Channel (32.4 million subscribers). Our own TEDxNashville talks have collectively been viewed more than 8 million times.
TEDx is not the usual idea conference. We are licensed through TED, and we follow a strict set of guidelines for how we organize our events, and there are clear content guidelines for speakers which can be found here.
While the above document is fairly comprehensive, there are 3 simple rules that can help you determine if your idea is right for this platform.
1. No commercial agenda: Speakers cannot promote their own products, books, or businesses, or those of a company which employs them. Talks can only feature technology, product demos, or books that inform an idea presented in a talk. Related to this point, TED prohibits us from paying any form of speaker fee or honorarium to speakers or performers, as our primary mission is to share ideas with the world free from financial or commercial motivation.
2. No bad science: TED and TEDx are platforms for showcasing and explaining genuine advances in science that are backed by research. Scientific claims by speakers should be based on data that has survived scrutiny by experts in the field. Speakers should be transparent about the basis for any factual claims, and the scientific evidence for them. The consequences of pseudoscience can be especially severe, and speakers should not misuse scientific language to make unsubstantiated claims.
3. Talks are thoughtful, not divisive: No talks with an inflammatory political or religious agenda, nor polarizing “us vs them” language. We seek to build consensus and provide outside-the-box thinking, not to revisit familiar, unresolvable disputes on these topics.
And finally, TEDxNashville is seeking ideas that show out of the box thinking. Before submitting this application, seriously consider this question: Is your idea novel? Have there already been TED or TEDx talks addressing this issue? If so, can you differentiate your idea?
Thank you for considering TEDxNashville, and if you have read the above and feel your idea is a good fit, we look forward to reviewing your application. Because of the number of applications we receive, and because we are staffed by a team of people volunteering their time outside of work and family, please understand that we’ll only respond if we would like to know more about you and your idea.
TEDx is not the usual idea conference. We are licensed through TED, and we follow a strict set of guidelines for how we organize our events, and there are clear content guidelines for speakers which can be found here.
While the above document is fairly comprehensive, there are 3 simple rules that can help you determine if your idea is right for this platform.
1. No commercial agenda: Speakers cannot promote their own products, books, or businesses, or those of a company which employs them. Talks can only feature technology, product demos, or books that inform an idea presented in a talk. Related to this point, TED prohibits us from paying any form of speaker fee or honorarium to speakers or performers, as our primary mission is to share ideas with the world free from financial or commercial motivation.
2. No bad science: TED and TEDx are platforms for showcasing and explaining genuine advances in science that are backed by research. Scientific claims by speakers should be based on data that has survived scrutiny by experts in the field. Speakers should be transparent about the basis for any factual claims, and the scientific evidence for them. The consequences of pseudoscience can be especially severe, and speakers should not misuse scientific language to make unsubstantiated claims.
3. Talks are thoughtful, not divisive: No talks with an inflammatory political or religious agenda, nor polarizing “us vs them” language. We seek to build consensus and provide outside-the-box thinking, not to revisit familiar, unresolvable disputes on these topics.
And finally, TEDxNashville is seeking ideas that show out of the box thinking. Before submitting this application, seriously consider this question: Is your idea novel? Have there already been TED or TEDx talks addressing this issue? If so, can you differentiate your idea?
Thank you for considering TEDxNashville, and if you have read the above and feel your idea is a good fit, we look forward to reviewing your application. Because of the number of applications we receive, and because we are staffed by a team of people volunteering their time outside of work and family, please understand that we’ll only respond if we would like to know more about you and your idea.
