The Swedish Wealth Institute Podcast

How to Become a TEDx Speaker | The Proven Formula for Landing Your TEDx Talk

• Daniel Wood • Season 1 • Episode 42

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Millions of people dream of giving a TEDx Talk.

Very few understand what it actually takes to earn one.

In this episode, Daniel Wood sits down with speaker coach and TEDx curator Tara Lafon Gooch to break down the entire TEDx process—from finding an idea worth sharing to crafting a talk that captures attention and opens doors.

If you've ever wanted to become a TEDx speaker, build your personal brand, or communicate your message with greater impact, this conversation offers practical advice from someone who has seen TEDx from every angle: as a speaker, a coach, and a curator.

You'll learn why most applications fail, how to develop a message that truly stands out, and the small details that can make the difference between getting accepted and getting overlooked.

In this episode, you'll discover:

✔ What TEDx organizers are really looking for in a speaker

✔ How to find your one "idea worth spreading"

✔ Why most TEDx applications get rejected

✔ How to structure a compelling TEDx Talk

✔ The importance of storytelling without making yourself the focus

✔ How to choose the right TEDx event for your message

✔ Practical tips to improve your stage presence and confidence

Whether your goal is a TEDx stage, keynote speaking, or simply becoming a more persuasive communicator, these lessons will help you share your ideas with greater clarity and confidence.

🎁 Free Gift for Listeners

Join the Swedish Wealth Institute Community and get two weeks of complimentary access to our learning platform.

You'll discover expert courses, accountability partners, coaching resources, and tools designed to help you build more wealth, freedom, and impact.

Start your free trial here:

https://event.financialfreedomsummit.online/wealth-creation-movement-sp-4974

Gain Clarity & Confidence on Your Next Steps: https://gamma.app/docs/Goals-Activation-Exercise-l950ioer20use9p


Connect with Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-lafon-gooch https://www.instagram.com/taralafongooch https://www.facebook.com/share/18bBDK7LPc/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://youtube.com/@taralafongooch



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SPEAKER_01

Everybody thinks their idea is very unique and very different. I have yet to meet a speaker that says I don't know if this is everybody proclaimed right. This is a totally unique idea. Oh great, let me hear it. Okay, I heard that five times yesterday. Go on YouTube. Type in whatever topic you want to speak about or to be researched. What they're ultimately doing is pitching an idea that's already been said. Is your idea unique enough and distilled enough? And again, from your perspective, how can it make someone think differently?

SPEAKER_02

Welcome to the Swedish 12th Institute podcast. Today I am joined by Tara Lafoon Gooch, and we are gonna be talking about what it takes to become a TEDx speaker. How do you create the speech? How do you get on the stage? How do you build the confidence to take a powerful idea and turn it into a message that will open doors? This is a really valuable skill because public speaking allows you to do better presentations, to get in front of crowds of your audience, build your brand, and ultimately build your freedom. So this is what's going to be really, really exciting about this talk. Me and Tara are gonna talk about the work you have to do before, how you structure the talk itself, and then how do you make sure you get the value from it at the end? So by the end, you will be able to become a TEDx speaker if that has been your dream. So let's get right into it. Here is Tara Lafoon Gooch. Hey Tara, welcome to the Swedish Wealth Institute podcast.

SPEAKER_01

Hey, thank you so much for having me, Daniel.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. Super excited for today. I want to talk to you about public speaking, becoming a successful speaker. Obviously, you've helped so many people do this successfully. And let's start with what is for many speakers a bit of a rite of passage, becoming a TEDx speaker. Let's share with our audience what is be what does that mean? What is being a TEDx speaker? And give us a little background, and then we'll get into the hows and and what to do and not.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. So I think, you know, TEDx is a great positioning statement for a speaker. It's a good thing to have in your portfolio. It's a good thing to have, you know, just documentation of that you're seen by a third party party entity that is a reputable entity that says this person's message is worthy of a big stage. This person's message should be listened to. So anytime you can borrow a credibility and authority and someone else's reach and audience and brand, I think it's a good thing, right? So it's about showing up on a stage that, you know, affords you that as a speaker. And I again, I think it's a great positioning piece for a speaker. It's not the entire repertoire, it's not the entire thing that you need to, you cannot absolutely let your speaking career depend on a TED talk. It's about so much more than that. It's about an overall strategy and consistently showing up.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, of course. I mean, it's as I said, it's a bit of a rite of passage and it's a way to, well, show off in front of different opportunities to speak if you're gonna build, build a business. And you've created a great course about it in the Swedish Wealth Institute community that I think we're gonna spoil a little bit today because we're I'm gonna be asking a bunch of questions.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So how do you get on and get your first TED talk? How does that work?

SPEAKER_01

Well, what I have seen as not only a speaker coach, but a speaker curator. So I work within a local TEDx event to curate and bring on speakers. So I've seen the stage from every angle. I've seen it from being a speaker on the stage, delivering a talk, being a curator who brings on speakers and vet speakers, and then also coaching speakers. So how to get in has it's less, don't worry about TEDx right now. Worry about what is the idea you're sharing. I think the first step many people think of is how do I get on the stage, but they don't take the time to really distill a message. And then when you find one that is potentially hiring for speakers, it's a mismatch and they don't understand why you're applying. So it's really important first to get the clarity. What is the message? I want to talk about what is that one message, one idea, not five ideas, one single idea, which is not easy, right? So many speakers that I work with have a hundred ideas and they think it's a TED talk. It's about that one idea. And it's an art to get it.

SPEAKER_02

What kind of ideas are they looking for? Like what uh what makes a good TED talk in your experience?

SPEAKER_01

A good TED talk is something that shifts your perspective on something. It makes you think differently. If you can make someone think differently from your perspective, your story, your whatever it is, your take on the world, it that's when it's not just a good talk. That's when people pay attention to it. That's when you get opportunities from it. And again, it's not just about can I get a TED talk or how do I get a TED talk? It's about what is that one idea that you could share from your perspective that could change the world.

SPEAKER_02

That that is that is really deep. And it gets me because the the problem is I think most speakers, we think our idea, our message is is you know, worth its weight in gold. How do you go about stress testing that to see that it will actually be what a TEDx is looking for or that it it is what, you know, more than you know, we live in our little bubble, right?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

How do we know that it's gonna work outside of our little bubble?

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. So a good stress test to see, because everybody thinks their idea is very unique and very different. I have yet to meet a speaker that says, I don't know if this is everybody proclaims, right? This is a totally unique idea.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, great.

SPEAKER_01

Let me hear it. Okay, I heard that five times yesterday. So a stress test is going on YouTube, not letting your emotions lead, right? Not letting your own understanding lead. Go on YouTube, type in whatever topic you want to speak about on the TEDx stage, and you know, that keyword, whatever it is, maybe it's a talk about confidence, confidence, TEDx talks, let it show you the list, right? And then you look at the titles and descriptions and start to do research. I think that's a big thing that speakers don't do is that taking taking the time to research. And then what they're ultimately doing is pitching an idea that's already been said. Right. Goes back to the drawing board of is your idea unique enough and distilled enough? And again, from your perspective, how can it make someone think differently?

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I think the challenge there though is let's say if my idea is unique, if no one's talked about it before, is it actually worth talking about?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

How do I know that it's going to be be a powerful subject or powerful enough, so to speak?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Well, I'll just give my example because I think it's just best to learn from example. When I was, you know, first looking into speaking on the TEDx stage for myself, I I have a five-step method. It's called GRASP GRASP. I write about it in my first book. I have a podcast on it, right? And it stands for Gratitude, Responsibility, Action, Site, Purpose. That's the five steps I use to become confident and uh you know successful in life. Now that's way too long for a TEDx talk because it's five steps. And that also means if if it's five steps, it's five ideas. If you think about it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Right? You think of it as one idea because you think of it as one thing, but it's actually five.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's one grasp, but each one is its own right.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So again, humbling yourself, because that's what you have to do, right? You have to humble yourself and you have to have that like coachable beginner's mindset.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And then you have to say, okay, what is the one thing? So if I were to teach this and I only had the option of one, what would that one thing be? And it was gratitude. And then I looked, there were no there were plenty of other talks on confidence, plenty of other talks on gratitude, no talk saying gratitude is the foundation of confidence. Gratitude builds.

SPEAKER_02

So no one else was connecting the two.

SPEAKER_01

That's exactly right. And it was a perspective based on my lived experience. And then of course I had professional work as well with the podcast and the book. So it made sense.

SPEAKER_02

And the, you know, and you had the credibility to be the person to bring this connection because of that.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. Yeah. So it has to be the lived experience. It, you know, this can't come out of the ether. I think that's a big misunderstanding that a lot of people do is they have this really deep experience over here, but then want to talk about this other thing.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And it's like, no, you have to have some type of correlation so people understand, right?

SPEAKER_02

Right. And so how do you structure a a talk like this? Is it very much telling your story or is it examples? How do you ideally structure because it's only 12 minutes, so you gotta get your point across quickly.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, you gotta get your point across quickly. Yeah. Yeah, I I definitely encourage personal storytelling. It just the story shouldn't be the star. The idea is the star. And I think that's a lot of times as well where speakers get wrong when writing and crafting their talks, they think their story is the star. It's the idea. So again, it's that shift in perspective based on what Ted is, right?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And once you realize that the star of the I of the talk is the idea, then you can write from that. So write from that mindset. And what do all good talks start with? They start with a really intriguing hook.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Right? It's YouTube. It needs to gain attention in the first 45 seconds so people actually watch your talk. So it's gonna be very clear, very intriguing, start with a hook from the beginning. But it shouldn't just start with a hook. I think that's another thing that a lot of people get wrong with speech rating. It should be a hook continually. A continual hook.

SPEAKER_02

Those continual hooks I remember that from back in the day when I just started with internet marketing, they would say the job of the first sentence is to get you to read the second sentence. Right. The job of the second sentence is to get you to read the third sentence, and so on and so forth. So it's basically that same idea.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think this is really important as well. I don't hear a lot of people talk about it. We talk about so much with the written script, and we focus and concentrate so hard on that. Every word does count and matters, but your nonverbal cues count even more.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Way more, right? What is communication? 80% nonverbal. And yet we focus so much on the verbal. So I do want to say that. And this is why, again, I think everybody should have a coach to pick these things out so that when somebody does have their big day on stage, they show up as the best version possible.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I love that. I find that when I when I am too stuck to my script, yeah, I lose uh I don't own the words, right? I'm just saying them in the right order. You kind of you have to internalize them and then be able to just let them come forth for it to to truly have those those emotional and visual cues.

SPEAKER_01

Yep. Absolutely, absolutely. So it's posture, it's how you're showing up on stage too, right? And I think that's something that we don't talk about enough. But posture is very important. And I I tell my, can I show a demonstration?

SPEAKER_02

Yes, please do.

SPEAKER_01

So if I put my shoulders up, this says I'm stressed out, don't trust me. Don't trust me, right? Yeah, don't trust me. So the shorter the distance between your earlobe and your shoulder is a signification. Should I can I trust this person? Can I trust what this person is saying? Because your body language is conveying distrust, it's conveying stress. Why would you be stressed if you were lying, if you weren't telling the truth?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So if you're not showing up authentically, you'd be stressed. You'd be guarded. So that signifies I can't trust you. The shoulders back signifies I'm confident in what I say.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Right? Stomach, lower stomach tucked in says I'm competent. It makes you show up a little differently. You hold your weight a little differently. It holds your posture in a more firm position. And I think this is important because we can mess up a really good talk that has a awesome speech in it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Simply with these cues and things. So all important.

SPEAKER_02

Right. So I'm my team is kind of pushing me to to start doing or to do a a TED talk. So I thought we'd, you know, help help the audience, our our listeners here, kind of maybe figure out their TED talk by kind of case studying it together, if that's all right.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, of course. Let's try. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So I'm I'm thinking about like what I should talk about. So where where would you start if if we're gonna dive into like how how would I go about this?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So I would assume, I don't like assuming, but I would assume you were going if you were going to talk on the TEDx stage, you would talk about your personal story about almost going through bankruptcy and then meeting Kim Kiyosaki and having her, right? I would assume you would talk about that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we've talked about it before. So for anyone listening that's uh I was on on Tara's podcast and obviously told this story about how when I started out, I started out in real estate. I got ripped off for about 400,000 pounds. I could have bankrupted the company, but that would have cost my investors everything. So I didn't. I had to figure out how to turn the business around. I had no idea how. Ended up starting the Swedish Wealth Institute to get free coaching by taking speakers out to dinner. Finally met Kim Kiyosaki. And after me spending four or five years trying to figure it out, it took her 15 minutes to figure out what I needed to do.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And uh that that's kind of so what I'm thinking the star of the show, the the the idea is you know, a good mentor can well, a bad mentor can cost you everything. A good mentor can fix it all in 15 minutes.

SPEAKER_01

Boom. So that's the idea. And I love how you said it so clearly, so concisely, and you said it in just a few handful of words. That's your thorough line now of your TEDx talk. So congratulations. Now you didn't just narrow down your idea, now you also developed your thoroughline. So we would write that down at that point.

SPEAKER_02

What does thoroughline mean? Just for for everyone.

SPEAKER_01

It's it's more of a TED. So that was Chris Anderson, the head of TED, the creator of TED. He obviously developed, you know, the TEDx platform and the TED platform. So he is someone, him and his team are people that when they watch a TEDx talk, they decide, could this go to TED.com? Right. And part of one of those criteria is that a talk has a very clear, thorough line that's repeated throughout the talk. And that is the one of the structures of how you would write a talk.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_01

So so you've just developed your idea, you've developed your thorough line for your talk. Now, where would you like to speak? Are you only work wanting to speak in Sweden, other parts of Europe, United States? Where would you want to go?

SPEAKER_02

Honestly, it doesn't really matter. I mean, to me, I my feel, and correct me now if I'm wrong, is TEDx is really so much about the the YouTube side of it, right? The there's one thing is the people in the room, but the big play is you get millions of viewers over time on the YouTube channel.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So I don't know, does it matter really which TEDx you talk to or talk at for that exposure?

SPEAKER_01

I would say uh just, you know, if you're not like pinned on location, I would say you would still want to go with one that's probably not the first year. Someone, you know, an event that has been repeated a couple of times that has an organized. Right.

SPEAKER_02

So the production quality really is.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, yes, yes. So that part is very important. And in order to decide that, you know, as you're applying, I would recommend you just watch a couple of videos from that event. Does this match my brand? Does this would I be proud of sharing something that this organizer produced?

SPEAKER_02

Right. That's because you do see a big difference in production quality between them.

SPEAKER_01

I have absolutely. Yeah. I have for sure. The event that I'm a curator for, the organizer she puts on an amazing event, but I've also been events too that were kind of floppy.

SPEAKER_02

So Right Okay. So that's really good advice. See, this is the inside secrets we we want to know. Yes, yes, yes. Find one where you see there's high production quality. Is there anything else that you want to know about the uh you know, the the location that that makes a difference?

SPEAKER_01

I don't think so. I think it really just depends on your goals. Like, you know, when I spoke in England, that made me an international speaker. So and it it was a you know, it had a slightly different feel to it. It was a really nice, you know, produced event. Everything was very nice. So, you know, I think it depends on your goals to a certain extent, but just think about those things.

SPEAKER_02

Like, does it have a lot of I've been on stages at well, I mean, we've put on events in multiple countries in Europe, and I've been on stages in in North America. So so I don't I don't really need that. It's very easy in Europe to be an international speaker. It's you go to the neighboring country. Like it that's like you going to a neighboring state and calling yourself an interstate speaker.

SPEAKER_01

I should. That's hilarious. Interstate. I never heard of that. That's great. But yeah, I would say it, you know, it just depends on your goal. So for you, I would be looking at events that are happening globally. Um, and then you would just tell me if there's any dates that you cannot speak. And then we would, based on that idea that you already discussed with me, we would find events that matched the their theme matched that idea in some way.

SPEAKER_02

Right. So each TEDx, like they they will have a theme for for their speakers for a day.

SPEAKER_01

That's correct. So you wouldn't apply to an event that is about AI and healthcare.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Okay. So so that you want to be matching what are they going to be doing at this event.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. Exactly. And a lot of time there's just too many mismatches that I've seen with speakers that they apply to unaligned themed events based on their idea and get rejected.

SPEAKER_02

Like me uh me applying for a healthcare one to talk about mentorships. Yeah, that's just not a good fit.

SPEAKER_01

It's just not a good fit. So always important to do a little bit of background research on the organizer, a little bit of background research on past events. You can watch those on YouTube, it's free. A little bit of research on the actual event, what they're looking for, read all the fine print. They put it all out there.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Well, I mean, they want to have the best possible speakers, of course.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. Exactly. And this is something that I help people do. I help through this entire process. And it's very much, you know, something that I once we find that event, yeah, that idea, it the acceptance rate is again because you're narrowing down, you're figuring it out, you're distilling it.

SPEAKER_02

Right. And that's so you don't really need to have a prior relationship. It's more important that you're fitting the theme and and the quality.

SPEAKER_01

The theme, the quality, you have what they're looking for. And again, you can look bypass speakers, who have they selected.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And why, right? And for my event, I'll I'll tell a personal story. For my event, I did not know the organizer, but I found her bio online. And her bio was very compelling. I related to it a lot. She talked about uh childhood trauma, different things in her bio, and how she overcame them, became an author. I checked out her books, right?

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

I did research before I contacted her. And I contacted her and I left I just sent her a really nice email that shared. Oh my gosh, I read your bio. I took a a quote from exactly what she said. A quote. Oh wow. Put that in the email. It shares with her that I really do care. I'm not just transactional.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And honestly, this is the same for any event a speaker can apply to. This exact logic right here. Relationships over transactions. If you just apply, what separates you from any other speaker?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Honestly, for us, when when someone just Cold reaches out to us, that is usually a red flag because that means they had no relationship to any of the speakers we work with and they had to cold re reach out. I when when you go, you know, the the way to get in with us is to talk to someone like you've introduced me to a bunch of great people. And and that's how, you know, that's how we build these relationships. So for me, the best way that I've seen, at least to get a hold of us, is to go through, okay, so who's put courses in their course catalog, who's been on their podcast, who speaks at their events. Well, let me call one of them if I know one and have them make an intro.

SPEAKER_00

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

But you don't need to do that at uh TEDx, is is basically what you're saying. You just have to send a really good application that fits the right event.

SPEAKER_01

That fits the right event. And you know, before I even apply, I want to be known by that person. Right. Right. So again, it's very similar to if I was applying to a job at Microsoft, let's say there's 1,400 other applicants. Right? Because some events have hundreds of applicants.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Would they be more likely to entertain those, or would they be more likely to entertain somebody who actually reached out to them directly, did a little bit of research, and ask them a question in the email. Hey, yeah, I noticed your event. It looks amazing. I've checked out your past videos. Wow, I've commented on a bunch of them. Do your work, right?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And then say to them, I you know, I'm not sure if this what you think about this idea, but it's been on my heart. And I really think it'd be interesting to share this on stage, not pitchy, not salesy, more of a question.

SPEAKER_02

Right. More get their feedback and insights.

SPEAKER_01

Get their feedback and insights. They're the expert, not you. So go to them and be humble, right? Ask them a question. Don't say this is the best idea ever.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

What do you think about this? Right? Because again, they hear that all the time. This is the best idea I've ever heard, and they've heard it five times yesterday. So show up as a person first with authenticity, a genuine outreach. And I think again, that goes for almost any event you can apply to, but TEDx especially.

SPEAKER_02

Right. And what do you think about? So one of the things I know a lot of speakers is about, you know, they want to come off as larger, larger speakers, right? So would you say in this case, is it better to reach out personally, or is it better to have, you know, your partnership manager or someone on your team do it on your behalf?

SPEAKER_01

I would say, I would say, I would say definitely you reach out personally. And the reason is TEDx, they like ideas we're spreading. They like they like they don't like what's called they refer to as a circuit speaker. A circuit speaker. So they actually frown upon that and prefer unique ideas more at the grassroots level. So for Ted, it's honestly the opposite strategy to your point. So that would be a hundred percent the best thing ever. If it's a conference, if it's something like that, like a panel discussion or something in the large event, then absolutely one.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. With TEDx, they simply want the idea.

SPEAKER_01

That's right. And they don't necessarily care about your platform and how big it is. They care about the idea.

SPEAKER_02

Maybe you don't they don't want you to have spoken on a million stages already with this exact same idea.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. That's so right. So it's about again, you know, just having that compelling idea, reaching out authentically, and not worrying of you don't have to be a professional speaker from day one.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_01

In fact, you definitely don't have to be a professional speaker. That's another misconception. I think TEDx that you should be a good speaker, right? I mean, that helps, certainly. But is it going to be the thing that gets you in the door versus not? It really just depends.

SPEAKER_02

Maybe say more you should be a good orator, but you don't necessarily have to be a professional speaker.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. Exactly.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_02

And so then when we build the story, I liked what you said with the with the through line there. But I'm curious, like for mine now, with you know, a bad mentor and good mentor, would you know, when I build a story, that would kind of normally be like the punchline that comes at the end, but that's missing that rule of the through line. How how do you treat treat that?

SPEAKER_01

So the thorough line should come in the first, I would like it depends on how many minutes your talk is. I always separate my talk into chunks. Right. So I have chunk one, that's the introduction and the hook. Chunk two is is what goes into maybe the personal story, right?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And that idea. And that idea should really be in that section, stated clearly in one sentence, about 15 words or so.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Then the idea should be repeated throughout the talk. Not necessarily the full sentence again and again. Right. Not necessarily, but that same idea could be a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02

So in my case, it might be as we're talking about getting ripped off. I'm reminding this is can what can happen with with a bad mentor.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly, exactly. And just continually going back to that idea. But I actually think the hook of your story is or the hook of your talk is your story.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It's it's exactly what you said in the beginning, and that's how your talk begins. And then it's at the end of you telling that story, it's that thorough line that's about 15 words, and then it goes into, so what happened? You know, how so how does that idea now right? How did that idea form and how did it change your life? What was the result? And has it have you seen this through other people? Is there any other research out there? Potentially, right? That's something else we would like to do. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, obviously, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So there's your story, which is great because that's your unique exp perspective. Right. And then there's also probably studies and research we could look into. Right.

SPEAKER_02

So you'd keep you'd basically keep my story very short. It wouldn't be the full 12 minutes would be the story. It would be a condensed version that kind of emotionalizes the idea, and then you back it up with research and and principles.

SPEAKER_01

Yep. And I would probably end the talk, you know, going back to that story.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And creating that going back to that story and creating that arc because it's the story, it's the hook, then there's the lessons. Like, what was that? And is there something actionable that you can teach your audience to do with this information? I think that's important too. Is there like maybe three points? Is there three steps? Is there something that someone can do right now, depending on how you want your your talk to go? In what direction you want it to go, because it could go in a couple different directions. I would think about what direction, like by listening to your talk, ask yourself what's in it for them. The person that's watching the talk, what's in it for them? So if we can identify that, what would you say? Uh let's, you know, do a real discussion about it.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I think the big thing is it's both the combination of going at it alone is really hard. That you know, a mentor has a shortcut, right? But it's also a shortcut can cause long delays. So you need to find the right mentor at the right time for you to live your mission because otherwise, either way, either without a mentor or with the wrong mentor, it's gonna take that much longer to reach your goal.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely, absolutely. And how what is if somebody is in a situation right now, let's say, and they have a bad mentor, what would you say it's costing them? Well, it could be costing them a lot, like it cost me a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02

I mean potentially everything. Yeah. I mean, it cost me friends, it cost me my house, it cost me my marriage, you know, it like it cost me my home, you know, it it can cost you everything.

SPEAKER_01

So it's urgent.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And it applies to everybody because w whether you're an entrepreneur or not, eventually you're going to trust someone with your money, with your future, with everything, right?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, exactly. I mean, even if you're even if you're in in a in a normal job, you're probably gonna have a mentor at the at the office that that's hopefully gonna open doors for you. And if it's the wrong one, they'll be closing those doors instead.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. So I think these are all universally appealing. And this is how, again, we just build that talk. And once you have that talk really built, it gets even clearer. So I don't recommend necessarily that people get accepted to an event and then write their talk. I encourage people to start writing their talk as soon as that idea is clear. And we've already done that, and then we can start writing your talk today. Yeah, and then you can start applying. And once we get all of this down, we'll get a talk title. And the talk title is simple, actionable. Maybe it has a problem, maybe it has a promise or a hook and an outcome.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

I like problem promise. It does they're pretty universal, but if you think about it that way, you're speaking directly to somebody's problem and you're offering them a solution and it's very clickable. So that's another thing we'll think about too as we go through.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, of course, you need those click-through rates on YouTube.

SPEAKER_01

You need those click-through rates. So I I'm already excited about your talk.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, no, it's gonna be really, really fun. I mean, we we do so much virtual now, so I don't get to be on live stages too much. I mean, it was just fun doing it this morning. I was invited to my kids' schools to teach them cash flow 101. So I love that. It's just fun to do things live.

SPEAKER_01

It is.

SPEAKER_02

We wrap up every episode with a rapid fire round. So are you ready? Yeah, let's do it. All right, cool. So I'm gonna ask you five questions and you just answer the first thing that comes to mind.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

All right. What is one confidence killer?

SPEAKER_01

Ooh. I would say one confidence killer is comparing yourself to other people and not giving yourself grace. We are all imperfect people. You're putting yourself to a standard that doesn't exist.

SPEAKER_02

What is one habit to improve your visibility?

SPEAKER_01

Being consistent and not giving up. Be persistent and consistent. It's one thing just showing up continually, it's another thing to believe that message and the reason you should be showing up continually. So be persistent, be consistent, and never give up.

SPEAKER_02

Nice. I like the definition between the two. What is one branding myth?

SPEAKER_01

Ooh, this is an interesting one. Let's see. One branding myth. You have to be all things to all people.

SPEAKER_02

Yep.

SPEAKER_01

Know your audience. You're not trying to appeal to everybody. The more you exclude, the more you niche down, the better. And all of that is okay, and that coincides with confidence. You can't do that if you're not truly confident. So a business starts with the owner, not with the business.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. I mean, considering there's whatever seven billion or so people on this planet, yeah. If you exclude 99%, you're still gonna have a pretty popular talk.

SPEAKER_01

Yep, that's right.

SPEAKER_02

All right, what is one fear leaders avoid?

SPEAKER_01

Looking at themselves first.

SPEAKER_02

All right, last one here. What is what is a definition of purpose that you use?

SPEAKER_01

Purpose is inherited, it's God given. Purpose is something that we don't choose or find that but more something we remember.

SPEAKER_02

Awesome. Thank you so much. Now, you know we love spoiling our audience here at the Swedish Wealth Institute. Do you have anything exciting for our listeners?

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. Feel free to check out the documents for TEDx. If this is a goal for you, check those out and tr start putting it into practice. Start writing your talk, start writing your title, start thinking about that 15 words and start bringing this to life so that you can start applying and getting closer to that goal of being on stage. I would love to hear from people listening to this episode that because of this podcast, they landed a TEDx talk and started their dreams.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, that would be so cool. I agree. Please comment that below. And those links will be in the show notes so you can grab them. And of course, you gotta hop into the Swedish Wealth Institute community and check out the amazing course that you've created for us on how to be a TEDx speaker.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Dana.

SPEAKER_02

So do you have any final parting words before we let you go?

SPEAKER_01

I would say if someone else has done it, you can too. There's nothing that's impossible, only your mindset and your willingness to take action. So if you believe this is for you, if this is attractive for you, if this is something you want to do that you feel compelled to do, it means it already belongs to you. You just have to step into the version of yourself who is already on that stage, and you can do it.

SPEAKER_02

You hear that, guys? All we got to do is do it. Go claim those links below. Thank you so much, Tara. I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you so much for joining us today. And we are now at the favorite segment of our, well, my favorite segment of our show, the what is the difference that makes the difference? Where me and the team have broken down the lessons and made them actionable for you to put into play. So let's go through the five we found that are especially valuable and that I hope you implement into your life because that's when this truly can make a difference. And of course, once I'm done, I have a special gift for you, and I want to share with you what is our next episode. So, lesson one TEDx is not the whole strategy, but it's a great positioning piece. So Tara shared a really cool, a really important point that TEDx can really open doors. It's powerful, it gives you credibility, it gives you authority, it's a third-party platform that will share your message for you, but it's not what's going to build your speaking career or your business. So use it as part of your strategy and a way to get the message out. Now, when doing a talk, it's number two, you want one idea, not five. So a lot of speakers try to get their entire philosophy into that one talk. But this is important. You build a talk around one key idea and use that to shift how someone sees the world. That's what you're gonna be remembered for, and that's what's gonna open doors. And hey, if you got five ideas, then you can do five talks over the years, right? Number three, your story supports the idea it's not the star. And this was powerful for me because I am very much a storyteller as a person, and what the point that Tara made is that storytelling matters, but it shouldn't take over the talk. It draws people in, but the idea is the star. And that's you use the story to make it real, emotional, and memorable. But it's not the point. Number four, do the research before you apply. So Tara gave some really practical advice, right? Take a look at other TEDx talks in your topic. Look at the event, look at the organizer, look at the production quality, look at the theme. Make sure you are choosing a TEDx stadium that will give you a quality video because, in the end, it's not about the people in the room, it's about the ex the exposure this will get when it goes live on their YouTube channel and other and other media. And you want to have a TEDx production quality to make sure that that is really, really good. And then you want to get on their stage, so you want to be pitching yourself for when they're for a fitting subject, a fitting event. And um, that pre-work is really, really important. Number five, presence matters as much as the words. So remember, it's not just about knowing your speech, it's about being there, it's about connecting, it's about feeling it, owning it. Because if you're not in authentically connecting to your own script, you're not going to create that connection. And that's why we do this. Alright, so I have a special gift for you. And before I do, I want to remind you to make sure you are subscribed to the Swedish Wealth Institute podcast, just like thousands of people all over the world, and that you don't miss our next episode because we have a very exciting guest who I'm very this is gonna be really cool to introduce you to her. We are now gonna give you your gift. Two weeks free access to the Swedish Wealth Institute app. Inside, you will be able to find our analytics tool, which helps you identify where are you now, where are you going, and what is your number one limiting factor. We will then connect you to how to overcome that limiting factor. And this is what's so cool. So once you know this is where I am right now, this is where I'm going, this is what's holding me back. We will connect you to the best people in the world, whether that's an accountability buddy, a course from you know Jack Camfield or Dr. John D. Martini, or direct coaching from one of the amazing speakers we work with. We'll help you overcome that step. And that's what's so amazing. You're gonna get these two weeks for free, and then it's only 27 euros a month. So it's not an expensive subscription, and you can cancel at any time. Next week, we have Celine DeCosta. Her book, Burning Ground, just became a USA Today bestseller. She is one of the most inspiring speakers I have met, and is definitely one that if you haven't heard of her yet, you will have heard of her soon. And of course, you'll know her better than most people after hearing the episode. We had we've had an amazing conversation about storytelling, purpose, visibility, healing, and what it means to share your message from contribution rather than ego. So I'm Dania Wood. This is the Swedish 12th Institute podcast. Thank you so much for joining us.