Ted Talk Sessions

As most of you have experienced in the past two years, successfully engaging people remotely is hard and requires a lot of planning and thought. Below are a few guidelines to help ensure that your presentations are both visually compelling and engaging.

1. Keep it simple

    Please start your videos with (1) a description of the problem you were trying to solve, 

    then (2) describe the solution, and end with (3) lessons learned that can assist others 

    who will follow your footsteps.   Feedback highlights that 3) is the most important: 

    attendees really value an honest presentation of the good, the bad and ugly of 

    projects covered.

2. How much content should I present?

     The number of speakers included in your presentation should influence how much

     visual content you share.  

• if you have 1-2 speakers, and want to also share content, check out Dan Lynch and Ben Feldman's session last year where you can see both speakers and content in full view.

• If you have 3-4 speakers, your visual content should be minimal. Check out Nikki Shaver & Travis Leon's session last year as a great example of including four speakers. 

3. Pro Tips: Camera, lights, action!

   To achieve the most successful visual impact, make sure your presenters are:

• directly lit from the foreground
• take up a higher ratio of their screen (move closer to the camera)
• use natural, not virtual backgrounds
• record using a high definition camera or lens

4. Video editing is your friend

    Editing your video beforehand allows you to include various combinations of 

    voiceovers, scrolling content and more- giving your presentation a professional and 

    engaging edge.  Vimeo, iMovie, Camtasia, and Final Cut Pro are just a few video editing

    programs you can use. 

• Check out Nicole Bradick & Ryan McClead's winning session last year as a great example of how beneficial video editing can be.