Please read
TO PROSPECTIVE SPEAKERS:
Speaker Submission Update
Our submission window for speaking at a TEDxMarin live show is CURRENTLY CLOSED. We ARE still providing our Topic and Script Development services*
- SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT for Speakers
We continue to offer script development (consulting) for select speakers looking to refine their talks for any TEDx stage. Our service helps speakers craft a compelling topic and script designed to resonate on the TED platform and with TED Editors.With experience developing hundreds of TEDx talks, we can guide you through the entire process from topic to final script to performance coaching. If you’re interested in learning more, call our office at 415-785-8873 to discuss your possible talk. Or send an email to ScriptDev@TEDxMarin.org
Live Show Update: After 14 straight years of 2-3 sold-out shows a year, we want to recharge our creative batteries. So we will be on sabbatical for a bit, which means we will not be producing any live shows with speakers for a bit. We will only be providing Topic and Script development services during this time.
We expect to pick things back up in mid-2026.
FOR FUTURE SUBMISSIONS (when the nomination window reopens)
To learn about our submission process in general, please read below:
If, after reading the GUIDELINES BELOW.…you still have specific questions, please call the office at 415-785-8873. Thank you.
We are always happy to discuss ideas with accomplished presenters.
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SUBMITTING OVERVIEW:
TEDxMarin is for serious-minded and seasoned public speakers.
ONLY COMPLETE and well-developed submissions are considered. The actual Nomination form is at the very bottom of this page.
NOTE: Please do not send in a nomination while our submission window is closed.
We always seek speakers offering new research, big ideas, compelling stories, or fresh perspectives on accelerating real change in the world, wellness, joy, freedom, or purpose. Wow, and genuinely new thinking, stories, and ideas are what we seek.
We feature A-list speakers bringing thought-provoking ideas on broad topics focusing on how we’ll live, cope, work, stay healthy, and thrive in the world to come.
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SPEAKER GUIDELINES
While connecting genuinely with our audience, speakers must be able to convey a big idea or truly new information with passion and authority. We’re looking for speakers who are doing fantastic work. It would be best if you had something truly important or unique to share or perhaps something which can challenge our audience to think about something important in a new way. Speakers should be able to communicate this within a 10-12-minute format.
TEDxMarin is not the venue for first-time/beginning speakers. We seek presenters who can argue for ideas that inspire. BIG ideas! Human stories – talks that will teach, entertain, make people think, make us laugh, cry, or encourage action. We are proud to bring high-caliber talks to the TEDxMarin community.
REMEMBER– You are sharing ideas, not issues.
What is your big idea?
Ideas often start with “What if” or “What happens when?” What if we used plant cells to grow human skin? What if we fundamentally misunderstand compassion? Etc.
Ideas refresh and reframe our perspective.
Below are three simple tests to apply to your talk. If just one helps frame your concept, you’re probably coming to a solid idea.
Does your talk:
- Reframe an existing paradigm? – Sometimes, the world agrees to look at a situation or idea from a similar perspective. What happens when we change that vantage point slightly? What new insights or understanding might we glean from a shift in perspective?
- Challenge an existing paradigm? – Does tradition or mindset cause us to accept, unexamined, certain conditions or ideologies? What happens when we refute the status quo? What would happen if the existing paradigm were removed?
- Offer a completely new paradigm? – Will your talk reveal a never-before-seen concept, technology, or methodology? Is it a true breakthrough?
MOTIVATIONAL TALKS.
These types of talks need to break new ground. If your talk is, in essence, a “motivational talk, ” please explain to us in your submission how EXACTLY you are breaking new ground in your submission. There is a very high bar to clear for us when we consider a motivational talk.
If you have any questions, call us at 415-785-8873.
ALL proposals must include RECENT Video examples of you giving a public talk and a draft script
NOTE:
What we tend to like.
Talks that make us FEEL
Generally speaking, Talks that can touch people’s hearts and are aimed at making this world a better, healthier place are far more interesting to our audience.
Any talk that profoundly challenges us to think differently on significant issues or offers unique solutions to life’s or the world’s vexing problems? Or shares breakthrough science… we will be more interested in reviewing.
Only complete submissions can be considered. So, if our nomination window is open, please fully assemble your proposal info for the form below. Because we get many nominations, we cannot RESPOND TO ALL SUBMISSIONS. You can call our office at 415-785-8873 if you have questions.
Please do not send in nominations when our submission window is closed.
Content:
Speakers should tell a story or argue for an idea. They may not use the TED stage to sell products or promote themselves, books, webinars, consulting practices, or businesses. Every talk’s content must be original and give credit where appropriate. Speakers cannot plagiarize or impersonate other persons, living or dead.
