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Nominate a Presenter

NOTE: We have no specific plans for our next event with live speakers — perhaps in 2022. to nominate someone anyway, the journey begins here:

We are looking for: never-before-seen presentations, from people who have changed the world in terms of Technology, Entrepreneurship, or Design. You need to be the inventor, the founder, the creator; we are not looking for commentary on the works of others.

Presenters must have personally made very strong achievements in the area they propose to discuss: Do not ask to speak about entrepreneurship if you didn’t build a big company. Do not discuss a charity cause unless you started it, and it has been deployed at scale. (Not to be mean, but we’re not Kickstarter or GoFundMe.)

We will reject anything that sounds like “the world would be better if only everyone would do __________”.

Our audience is not looking for advice or “coaching” about how to live differently. We do not need professional or semi-pro “public speakers” who have given the same talk many times, or personal observations from an individual who is not famous. Our audience attends to meet and learn directly from inventors and designers and creators.[/box]

Note to publicists or speakers ‘on tour’: Each talk at our events is a unique debut, something new and special that has never been seen before. If you have a “standard presentation”, we won’t be using it. Please make sure you (or your client) has time for a meaningful commitment, since we will not work through a proxy. In exchange we’ll provide assistance with art, content, and delivery, to help craft a stellar performance. If we’re interested, expect that we will ask to speak with your client immediately.

Please have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions about Speakers first, to make sure your nominee will be suitable.  If you plan to nominate yourself, you should also have a look at our Content Guidelines, which discuss the presentations in a bit more detail.

We try to give the courtesy of a response to all nominations, but in return we ask that applications be consistent with our guidelines. Pitches that take the tone of self-improvement, armchair philosophy, a pitch for a pre-traction startup, or “the world would be better if only people were different” will simply be deleted. Thanks for your cooperation.

  • About You, the Nominator

    (Yes it's okay to nominate yourself or your client.)

  • Contacting the Nominee

  • This Nominee is Famous For...

    (this section is required)
  • Tell us briefly about the speaker. If they are the founder of a company, how large is it? If they created a product, how many million users? If they create content such as ads or movies, which major awards have they won?
  • Which of these areas best describes this candidate's innovation?
  • In what way has this candidate most dramatically changed the world? (Specific historical details, such as sales figures or number of users. We are not interested in "future potential impact", but what has already been achieved.)
  • Please provide links to any articles or web pages about this speaker. (If possible, include their LinkedIn page, since that helps us to establish connections.)
  • Have you heard this person speak publicly? If so, where? Have they ever spoken on the main stage at TED or TEDGlobal? Or any of the independent TEDx events?
  • What is this person like on stage? Ok to use pop culture references if you like.
  • Please provide links to any online audio or video featuring your nominee.
  • What would be the biggest "a-ha" of this candidate's presentation?

    Examples of great "TED Moments" are:

    • • unveiling a never-before-seen scientific discovery and its proof
    • • how the candidate personally created a famous company or product
    • • mind-expanding inventions, designs, or history, presented by the creator

    Please be very concise - we are looking for what will literally be the point of the presentation, or perhaps the title of the talk. (Not a moral like "if you try hard enough, you might overcome your challenges", or an imperative like "everyone should do xyz and then we'll all be happier", but a specific tale like "How I built a flying car and got it approved by the FAA for flight next year.")
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.