Nervous About Applying to TEDx Terry Talks 2009? This Post Should Help.

Terry* readers, I’ve just had an epiphany.

Through conversations with wonderful, interesting students who love Terry* and can’t wait till they can experience the magic of TEDx Terry talks 2009 on October 3rd, (and questions I’ve gotten directly), I’ve realised that there are loads of people out there who haven’t applied for TEDx Terry talks simply because they are nervous about the application process.

Many people are confused about what the video application should contain, how much technical prowess is necessary, how developed their idea should be, and whether they going to look silly doing it, because after all, that application is on the ‘net for ALL TIME afterward.

The ‘giving the talk of your life’ part seems easy in comparison.

And so, dear readers, just to assuage your nerves (that’s how much I love you) I sat down this morning, opened up my macbook, entered Photo Booth, pressed record, and made two sample applications just for you.  I was just quickly experimenting and so my applications are longer than they should be (we’re looking for applications that are between 30-60 seconds), but you do get an idea of what a possible video could look like.

Sample TEDx Terry Talks 2009 Application: Challenging Islamophobia One Word at a Time from shagufta pasta on Vimeo.

TEDx Terry Talks 2009 Sample Application: Satire and Challenging Stereotypes from shagufta pasta on Vimeo.

So no fancy editing/technical skills required (in fact the videos skip a bit), and no fancy locations, we just want a sense of what it is you want to share with the campus community, and an idea of your speaking style. And if your proposed talk isn’t totally fleshed out, that’s ok too! My video certainly wasn’t a play by play of an 18 minute talk, but was more a summary, a snapshot (a taster if you will) of the ideas I would examine more deeply.

If you have further questions, please do give us a shout at terrytalks@gmail.com, or leave a question in the comments here. Who knows, maybe there are lots of people with the same question!

Don’t forget, the deadline to send in your application is September 15th 2009. Looking forward to hearing from you soon…