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As part of the preparation to become a TED speaker, I received coaching from an experienced TED speaker coach called Danielle Krage
If you ever need coaching, I can’t recommend her highly enough. Here are my top 5 tips based on my recent TED journey:
1. TED speakers talk without notes or autocues for between 8 and 15 minutes. I created a visual talk map to help me remember my talk. It is easier for our brains to remember images than words and the associations between the different images helped me to remember the flow of my talk. Even the process of choosing the photos and sticking them on a piece of paper helped to commit them to memory
2. Talk as though you are speaking to the one person who really needs to hear what you have got to say.
3. Imagine your talk as a conversation with the audience. Make a point and then imagine what they would ask. Then respond.
4. Practise and keep practising. I recorded my talk on my phone and talked along with it every time I was in the car, the shower, cooking tea…
5. Smile, breathe, allow your shoulders to relax. Trust it will be OK
