What Giving a TED-Style Talk Revealed About Us as Speakers

Have you ever wondered what it really takes to create, practice for, and deliver a powerful TED-style talk - especially one that’s only 8 minutes long?

In this episode, I’m joined by Diane Diaz, our lead speaking coach at Speaking Your Brand, as we take you behind the scenes of our recent TED-style speaking experience.

We were invited to be part of a live event called ElleX, hosted by a women’s entrepreneurship group at a local college.

We had only one week to prepare our full talks for the audition!

Diane and I share:

• How we came up with our topics and aligned them with the theme

• The difference between a TED-style talk and a typical keynote or presentation

• How we approached “memorizing” our talks (spoiler: we didn’t, exactly!) What surprised us about the experience (and what we’d do differently next time)

• Why it's essential to amplify who you naturally are on stage

• And… which of us has decided TED-style talks are not her favorite and what is 😉

You’ll hear how Diane used humor and storytelling to deliver a deeply moving (and yes, funny!) talk about her Ironman triathlon journey and how I wove in women’s leadership, history, and AI into my talk about the future of tech and humanity.

Whether you're preparing for your own TEDx talk, want to challenge yourself as a speaker, or simply love the behind-the-scenes of crafting powerful messages, this episode will inspire you to lean into your unique style and maybe even try a new speaking “muscle.”

Want to discover your speaker archetype? Take our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz to get personalized recommendations based on your strengths.

We’ll add the video links to our talks in the show notes as soon as we get them, so check back!

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/430/

Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/

Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/

Connect on LinkedIn:

• Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox

• Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 429: What Most Speakers Miss: 3 Secrets to Insightful and Inspirational Presentations

• Episode 376: Use the Secrets of Comedy for Better Storytelling and Delivery in Your Talks

Become Bookable Live Online Workshop - April 15, 2026
If you want to speak more but you’re not sure where to start or your efforts haven’t produced the results you want, I’m hosting a live online workshop called “Become Bookable: How to Get Speaking Invitations” on Wednesday, April 15th.

A lot of brilliant women assume they just need to pitch themselves more. But the real reason speakers get invited isn’t because they pitch harder — it’s because they’re positioned as bookable.

In this 3-hour interactive workshop live on Zoom, I’ll show you how speakers actually get invited — and help you clarify the positioning that makes event organizers say yes.

As a podcast listener, use the coupon code “Podcast100” to save $100 on your registration.

Learn more and register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/bookable