People & Blogs

What If You Could Give a TED Talk? An Inside Look at “My Big Idea,” an Original Series from TED

Published

1 year ago

March 25, 2025

If you’ve ever wondered how you can give a TED Talk, you’re not alone. TED believes that ideas change everything — and that they can come from unexpected places. So, as part of our global Idea Search program, we issued an open call to anyone in the UK in search of the biggest, boldest and brightest ideas. Out of 500 applicants, 10 were selected to speak at a special in-person TED event in partnership with TEDxBrighton. In this film, you’ll meet all 10 speakers and follow the process of going from an idea in someone’s head to an actual TED Talk on the stage. We’re always looking for the next big idea — maybe yours could be next.

“My Big Idea” is a new series from TED that documents the process of imagining and then creating a TED Talk, featuring first-time speakers and ideas new to the TED stage.

Watch episode 1:
Watch episode 2:
Watch episode 3:
Learn how “My Big Idea” was made:
Watch the series:

Learn more about the TED Idea Search process and where it’s headed next:

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The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #MyBigIdea

Related Topics:featured TED TED Talk TED Talks TEDTalk TEDTalks

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20 Comments

@ng9700

March 24, 2025 at 12:10 pm

Ted ed one of my dreams to give a Ted talk 🙌🏻

Reply
- @JHaygood-dq1rp
  
  March 25, 2025 at 7:02 am
  
  😎 you can do it!
  
  Reply
@crizalecorpuz9360

March 25, 2025 at 6:50 am

❤💫😇

Reply
@vishaldevalia31

March 25, 2025 at 7:01 am

My dream to give a Ted Talk

Reply
@oyindamolaayinla4003

March 25, 2025 at 7:09 am

I Oyindamola Ayinla with give a Ted talk in the next 7month.

Reply
@JHaygood-dq1rp

March 25, 2025 at 7:10 am

Congratulations 🎉 in advance to you all😎

Reply
@hazelmead1360

March 25, 2025 at 7:16 am

This was such a wild ride! Thank you for having me, we really did become like a family! I’m proud of us!! x

Reply
@richelife

March 25, 2025 at 8:24 am

Being a part of this was truly an honour & dream come true, i’m so proud of my fellow speakers and incredibly grateful for the support we received from the TED team 🥺🫶🏼

Reply
@Author.Grecia.Chasteen

March 25, 2025 at 9:00 am

Love this

Reply
@chocomalk

March 25, 2025 at 9:03 am

Remember, bad ideas can change everything as well.

Reply
@JadeBuffong

March 25, 2025 at 9:24 am

This was such an amazing experience! Loved the opportunity and can’t wait to see everyone’s talks go live.

Reply
@pinealgasm

March 25, 2025 at 12:03 pm

I challenge anyone to document how difficult it is to get me the help I need

Reply
- @BonnieShadow33
  
  March 25, 2025 at 7:21 pm
  
  I challenge you to actually verbalize your needs – which you continually refused to do last time I reached out.
  
  Reply
@urbanstrencan

March 25, 2025 at 3:30 pm

Great iniciative TED

Reply
@BonnieShadow33

March 25, 2025 at 7:21 pm

I’m so excited to see the talks hit YouTube!

Reply
- @pinealgasm
  
  March 25, 2025 at 8:08 pm
  
  @@BonnieShadow33 i have ideas for ted talks on my deviantart & patreon.
  
  Reply
- @pinealgasm
  
  March 25, 2025 at 8:11 pm
  
  @@BonnieShadow33 i so very much want to participate & contribute in these. i’m capable of building a new better mental health social safety net, but they’d rather kick me around like a piece of trash. gaslighting victim-blaming forced independence bureaucratic crap.
  
  Reply
- @BonnieShadow33
  
  March 25, 2025 at 8:39 pm
  
  @pinealgasm What country do you live in? Who are “they”?
  
  Reply
- @pinealgasm
  
  March 25, 2025 at 8:43 pm
  
  @@BonnieShadow33 seattle. they are dshs. google it. another problem i keep having is people not in my country asking me to repeat my needs yet again just to tell me they can’t help because they’re not in my country which is a crappy excuse when we have internet.
  
  Reply
- @pinealgasm
  
  March 25, 2025 at 8:47 pm
  
  @@BonnieShadow33 & please don’t say “good luck” either, i keep saying “who needs people with all this luck going around” to which people never respond.
  
  Reply

People & Blogs

What to Do When You’re Told There’s Nothing Left to Try | David Fajgenbaum, Kiah Williams | TED

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

What do you do when the world declares something impossible? When physician-scientist David Fajgenbaum was dying from a rare disease and social entrepreneur Kiah Williams was confronting the realities of economic hardship, they began asking a different question: What can I do today? In this conversation, they discuss how turning hope into action can drive meaningful change — one step at a time. (This conversation is hosted by The Audacious Project’s Alexandra Tillmann) (Recorded at TEDNext 2025 on November 10, 2025.)

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People & Blogs

Being surrounded by puppies all day and helping people in need? Talk about a DREAM job! #TEDTalks

Published

2 days ago

April 9, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

People & Blogs

Which Idea Wins Over 4,000 People? | Amman | TED Idea Search

Published

2 days ago

April 9, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

The TED Idea Search wraps up in Amman, Jordan, in a 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater and in front of a crowd of 4,000. What unfolds inside those stone walls is something the series hasn’t quite seen before: speakers shaped by the weight of living in a region the world tends to define for itself. From a mountaineer who turned grief into motivation to a therapist rewriting the Arab world’s language around mental health, the final city makes the strongest case yet that the best ideas can come from anywhere.

Watch the full talks from the TEDxAmman Idea Search:

00:00 – Intro
3:24 – Rehearsals
16:00 – The Talks
36:28 – Deliberation
38:48 – The Winner Is…

The most interesting ideas often come from the most unexpected places. We searched the globe for ideas with the power to inspire, motivate and change lives — and we found them at @TEDx events around the world. The TED Idea Search follows extraordinary speakers from 9 countries competing for a spot on the TED main stage in Vancouver this April.

A WING London production for TED

Join us in person at a TED conference:
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The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at

#TED #TEDTalks #TEDIdeaSearch