What if you could craft a speech that, in the span of 12 - 18 minutes, perfectly captures your message, creates a movement, and changes the lives of millions?
Meet Ashley Stahl
In 2012, I won an award for my work in counterterrorism, and will never forget meeting a beautiful TEDx speaker named Sarah at the awards ceremony. She had just spoken at the TEDx event hosted with the United Nations … and I told her doing something like that would be a total dream, feeling as though it was way out there, later in my life.
She looked at me when I left, as if out of a cartoon, and smiled: “perhaps that’ll happen sooner than you think.”
Me? I thought.
How would I ever make that happen?
And what message would I even have to share?
That night I flew to Istanbul, Turkey for one of my last work assignments in counterterrorism – reporting on the protests in Taksim Square. Just days later, I was crouched down in the Grand Spice bazaar with teargas in my eyes, and I felt a buzz in my pocket. I received a text from Sarah — she recommended me to TEDx Berkeley.
… All I needed to do was submit a pitch and a “speaking reel.” What’s a speaking reel? I wondered. I googled the term, only to find a few very fancy 3 minute clips of famous speakers walking across stages with messages that were impacting MILLIONS. All I had in that moment was my iPhone, so propped up against the bathroom wall, I recorded my soon to be “speaking reel” the TEDx curators requested. I made up some sort of speech, and much to my SHOCK, they accepted me as a speaker! I was haunted every night that they would rescind their invitation. But they did not.
After three months of religiously preparing for my talk, it was my turn. I walked on stage just after Guy Kawasaki. He had the crowd roaring with laughter, and I was petrified! I was asked to talk about counterterrorism. But instead, I owned my new identity as a career expert as I delivered: Three Questions to Unlock Your Authentic Career.
This was the first speech I’ve ever given in my life … and it went viral.
What does the
talk program include?
- A fully written TEDx speech that honors your core idea and life’s work (written partially by you, or even in full by our speechwriting team- your choice)
- A video pitch that gets TEDx curators excited to book you
- Up to 90 targeted email pitches and applications to our rolodex of TEDx curators for a booked date on the TEDx stage (the average booking takes 30 pitches and 6 months from the date of starting the pitch process)
Education and prep for your talk delivery on stage/ your stage presence - Get $1000 off the total price of $25,000 when you apply below (payment plans are available!)
Steps to Becoming a Successful
TEDx Speaker
Step 1: Discover an Idea Worth Sharing
Step 2: Polish Your TEDx Talk
Step 3: Write and Record Your Pitch Video
Step 4: GET BOOKED!
Why Entreprenista’s Love
The Talk Program
As Ashley Stahl said, landing a TEDx talk is THE superhighway for your personal brand. Whether you want to establish yourself on the speaking circuit, step into more leadership and influence in your corporate career, or scale your business and lead generation, the TEDx brand is still as powerful as ever. Where else are 40 million subscribers waiting to hear your message? That’s a shot at going viral unlike any other!
- Heather Monahan