The Steps That Evolved In The Creation Of And Preparation For My TEDx Talk
by Shena Driscoll Salvato

1) I made my written application about three times longer than it had to be, then narrowed it down. I did this unintentionally (the required count was 250 characters, and I mistook it for 250 words). While this initially caused me some frustration, it was a real gift to have first drafted a longer piece. The ideas I had to remove were put aside, and became seeds for other projects.
 
2) I found a comfortable, inspiring spot (sitting on the floor in front of the wood stove on a dark, snowy Friday night in upstate New York) and prepared to unleash any and all ideas, one at a time, using sticky notes, colored markers, and a stack of 11x14 paper I had on hand.
 
3) I chose general themes to correspond with the colors of my markers and wrote one thought/idea at a time on one sticky note at a time, adding each to the large paper. When one page was filled up, I got another and added to it. At this stage, there was no right or wrong, no organizing. I simply allowed the ideas to move from my thoughts, through my hand, to the paper.
 
4) I took a break (a few minutes, a few hours, a few days—whatever was called for!).
 
5) I revisited the sheets in a comfortable, inspiring space. With more of the large blank sheets, I began to rearrange the sticky notes into categories. I felt moved to eliminate some ideas, so I moved them to their own “for later” sheet. I also felt inclined to revise and/or add to some of my ideas. These three practices happened concurrently, but they could certainly be done one at a time.
 
6) I ordered the large sheets in the sequence for my talk. I talked through my ideas to myself (sometimes silently, sometimes aloud) while referencing the sheets, as if I were delivering my talk.
 
7) I wrote a formal “script” of my talk based upon what I had done so far, as it was required for submission to the organizers.
 
8) I read the script aloud and audio recorded myself. The reading was about half the total time my talk should have been, so I felt confident that I’d be able to stay within the time limit for my talk, when I’d likely talk more slowly than I would read, and I’d have room to add more details as I would do when talking with someone.
 
9) I listened to the recording with my script in hand, and revised as I was moved to do.
 
10) I chose what I’d want to represent on slides, designing ones that would strategically lead me to my next point while conveying meaningful ideas to my audience without needing to take the time to explain them.
 
11) I made a list of main talking points (I thought of these as book chapter titles). I then audio recorded myself using only the talking points on a note card as a reference. I did this until I was satisfied with the product.
 
12) I listened to the recording of myself (over, and over, and over, and…) as I walked, commuted, did housework, etc..
 
13) I audio recorded myself again using no notes. I listened to the recording, paying attention to time, main points, details. I expanded, reduced, revised as needed.
 
14) I recorded again until I was satisfied with the result. I listened to the recording of myself speaking (over, and over, and over, and…).

Best wishes in your endeavor!