Do you have an idea worth spreading?
Speaking at TEDxSanAntonio
Subscribe to our email updates to be notified of upcoming speaker opportunities. We hope you will attend a TEDxSanAntonio event to learn more about our community and share your ideas with us. Join us at re:frame Saturday, November 9, 2019 at Charline McCombs Empire Theatre.
NOTE: *We welcome your ideas for themes, topics and speakers for future TEDxSanAntonio events, including TEDxSanAntonio Women, TEDYouth San Antonio, and TEDxSanAntonio Salons.
TEDxSanAntonio is a community of thinkers, explorers, makers, doers, performers, and artists who believe passionately in the power of ideas as a catalyst for positive change in San Antonio and around the world. In the spirit of TED’s mission, we aim to gather people from every discipline and culture who cultivate a deeper understanding of the world and ourselves.
We strive to produce events that feature stimulating performances, discussions, entertainment, and art that sparks new ideas and fosters real dialog on issues that matter to our community.
About Our Speakers
We search year-round for speakers who will inform and inspire, surprise and delight. We welcome emerging artists, scientists, and thinkers, and aim to introduce them to the TEDxSanAntonio community before they hit the mainstream.
Suggest a Speaker
If you know someone who belongs on our stage, please use our speaker nomination form, and tell us why this person would be well-matched to the TEDxSanAntonio stage. Help us connect with them!
Speaking at TEDxSanAntonio
TEDxSanAntonio speakers are chosen by a select team through a highly curated process that considers ideas, speaker styles, and the flow of the event. We evaluate applications by the power of the idea, and whether the TEDxSanAntonio platform can help propel the idea forward.
What ideas are we looking for?
- Something that’s new and surprising; an idea or invention that our audience has never heard about.
- Ideas that deserve to be defended – not something self-evident, but an interesting argument, perhaps with an antagonist.
- A great basic idea that our audience has maybe already heard, presented with a compelling new argument that challenges beliefs and perspectives. (E.g., a scientific discovery that changes how we think about frogs, a philosophical argument that reshapes our notions of friendship.)
In other words, a TEDxSanAntonio talk isn’t just a story or a list of facts. It takes certain evidence or observations and draws a larger conclusion.
We actively seek artistic and musical performances as an integral part of our events. Previous performers have included: spoken word poets, singers and musicians, modern dancers, and comedians.
Things to Know
Much like TED, TEDxSanAntonio isn’t a typical conference. The TEDxSanAntonio audience has high expectations of the speakers. Presenting speakers need to have credibility in the space and be actively working on the idea. The majority of our speakers come from the San Antonio area. We do invite speakers from around the world whose messages have special resonance or relevance in San Antonio.
The all-volunteer TEDxSanAntonio Programming Committee works with speakers well in advance of the event to help prepare and develop talks that will succeed on the TEDxSanAntonio stage. Speakers must be available for curation, group rehearsals and speaker receptions/press opportunities. Also, speakers attend the full event and dialog with attendees. Like all TEDx events, no speaker fees or stipends are permitted. Travel and lodging costs are the responsibility of the speaker, unless otherwise agreed to in advance.
Speaker applications are closed for the upcoming re:frame November 9 event. Please attend and get to know us! Notifications regarding speaker applications for the November 9 event will be made during the week of August 22, 2019. Though we consider each application carefully, please note that only a small fraction of applicants can be selected for any event. Attend our events to share your ideas with the community!
More information:
- Something that’s new and surprising; an idea or invention that our audience has never heard about.
These 10 tips will help you plan and deliver a great TEDTalk.
- Dream big. Strive to create the best talk you have ever given. Reveal something never seen before. Do something the audience will remember forever. Share an idea that could change the world.
- Show us the real you. Share your passions, your dreams … and also your fears. Be vulnerable. Speak of failure as well as success.
- Make the complex plain. Don’t try to dazzle intellectually. Don’t speak in abstractions. Explain! Give examples. Tell stories. Be specific.
- Connect with people’s emotions. Make us laugh! Make us cry!
- Don’t flaunt your ego. Don’t boast. It’s the surest way to switch everyone off.
- No selling from the stage! Unless we have specifically asked you to, do not talk about your company or organization. And don’t even think about pitching your products or services or asking for funding.
- Feel free to comment on other speakers — to praise or to criticize. Controversy energizes! Enthusiastic endorsement is powerful too.
- If possible, don’t read your talk. Notes are fine. But if the choice is between reading or rambling, then read.
- You must end your talk on time. Doing otherwise is to steal time from the people that follow you, and could disqualify your talk from appearing on TEDxTalks YouTube channel. We won’t allow it.
- Rehearse your talk in front of a trusted friend … for timing, for clarity, for impact.
Want to know more about what it means to be a TEDxSanAntonio speaker and why you should consider giving a talk?
Be sure to read the TEDx Speaker Guide document from the “big” TED organization about speaking at a TEDx event.
