Guest Curator Responsibilities

Introduction

Every month we host a social event where we select an hour’s worth of TED Talks. The process of selecting the TED Talks that are shown is managed by the Guest Curator. The following outlines the responsibilities and provides guidance on what that role involves. If after reading the information you are interested in being a Guest Curator then please send us an email outlining the subject and come to one of our events so that we can talk it over.

Selecting A Subject or Theme

The most successful events have been when we have selected “big” subjects. So dream big. Check to see if you can find any TED Talks on the subject before proposing a theme. Also please check to see if we have covered that subject before at one of our events. A list of all the events and TED Talks we have shown in the past is here.

The Format

Our social events all follow the same format. One hour of socializing, one hour of TED Talks and one hour of discussion.

Using the One Hour of TED Talks to Best Effect

Every TEDx event needs to start with the 2 minute TED’s intro video so you really only have 58 minutes!! You may also wish to say a few words at the start and the finish. So you can quickly be down to only 50 minutes.

TED Talks are at a maximum 18 minutes long and can be as short as 3 minutes. It is great to start and end with the most dramatic content. Short TED Talks are very popular.

As you pick the TED Talks think about how the story builds – what is the best way to tell the bigger story.

Questions To Discuss

After we show the TED Talks we ask everyone to break into small groups and talk with people they did not come with about what they have just seen. To facilitate the discussion the guest curator provides five open ended questions that are designed to start the conversation.

Timeline

Two Month Prior to the Event – Agree the theme.

Five Weeks Prior – Write a short paragraph that can be used to promote the event. This text will be used in the email sent to promote the event and also on the website. If you wish to have your bio added to the website then send a brief bio and a headshot.

Two Weeks Prior – First Draft of TED Talks to be used. Send a link to the various TED Talks being considered to the Curator and start the discussion of the best talks.

One Week Prior – Finalize the TED talks to be used so that they can be uploaded onto a computer and used on the night.

Two Days Prior – Send the questions to the Curator so that they can be printed out in time for the event.

Evening of Event – Arrive at 6:00 p.m. so that you can talk with the Curator and be familiar with the setup and the venue.

After The Event – Provide advice to the Curator on how to make the process more effective in the future.

Time Commitment

It takes a lot of time to watch TED Talks and decide which ones best fit your needs. Our experience is that you will need to set aside at least 10 hours to create a one hour program.