Roman Mars had two ideas for his TED Talk: the talk he thought he should give and the talk he wanted to give. As the creator of 99% Invisible, a podcast about the design elements in life that usually go unnoticed, Mars felt like his talk should tackle the basic principles of design and how […]
Dame Stephanie Shirley had just a few hours to go before giving her talk at TEDWomen 2013. There was just one problem: she could hardly speak. Shirley, a tech entrepreneur who founded a software company in the 1960s, had flown from London to San Francisco to speak at the conference. Her talk told the story […]
Three artists. One five-minute performance. Less than 48 hours. No, this is not a math problem. It was the scenario presented to choreographer Bill T. Jones, cellist Joshua Roman and vocalist Somi at the start of the TED2015 conference. June Cohen, TED’s executive producer of media, offered a challenge to these three: Could they craft […]
Kate Stone’s journey to the TED stage began, of all places, in a London bar. In 2012, TED Curator Chris Anderson and Content Director Kelly Stoetzel embarked on a worldwide talent search, traveling to 14 cities on six continents. In each city, they hosted live events to find amazing speakers, and 34 of them ended […]
“Hi. My name is Zak Ebrahim and I’m the son of a convicted terrorist,” said a soft-spoken man in a checkered button-down shirt, sitting in your average white-walled room. “With my story, I hope to show that if I can choose a peaceful, non-violent path that anyone can.” This was my formal introduction to Zak […]
In 2009, Simon Sinek gave the talk “How great leaders inspire action” to an audience of 50 people in a small room at TEDxPugetSound. It quickly became the second most-watched talk on TED.com. Sinek, of course, felt honored by the growing popularity of his talk—and by the opportunity to inspire people to think more deeply about […]
“As you can see, my legs are bionic,” said Hugh Herr on the TED2014 stage. “The artificial part of my body is malleable, able to take on any form, any function, a blank slate through which to create structures that can extend beyond biological capability.” Standing tall in a suit hemmed at his knees, Herr […]