As a professional keynote speaker for over 15 years, I have always wanted to deliver a TED Talk. TED is at the top of the mountain for professional speakers, and I’m thankful that years ago, TED launched TEDx local community conferences. I even had a cameo in my pal, Marcus Whitney’s TEDx Nashville talk a few eleven years ago.

I’ve waited years to deliver my talk

I know other speakers who have delivered multiple TEDx talks, some better than others. I’ve also seen talks that didn’t seem to fit the speakers or seemed unrehearsed or poorly planned. To me, TEDx is important, and I’ve waited years to deliver my talk because I wanted the topic to be my most important message, not just something on my mind or a trending topic of the day.

Earlier in my career as a speaker, I would deliver presentations on topics I was interested in at the time, but I made a rookie mistake: I gave those talks only once or twice before moving on to new topics. This might have had something to do with my undiagnosed ADHD at the time (and also my realization that Marcus’ TEDx talk was eleven freaking years ago).

There is a reason why Jerry Seinfeld is known for delivering practically the same set year after year, and your favorite bands primarily play their hits at concerts. Admit it, you want to hear the classics, right?

Performing for audiences isn’t about the artist; it’s about the audience.

My lightbulb moment might have been seeing the brilliant Guy Kawasaki speak many years back at Gnomedex, when he loaded up his laptop and asked the audience which presentation they wanted to see. Based on the show of hands, he loaded up his classic “Art of the Start” and delivered it like a pro.

Anyhoo…. here we are in 2026 on March 28th, I’ll be delivering my first and perhaps only TEDx talk in Franklin, Tennessee, and if you are in the area, I hope to see you there. It’s going to be an amazing event filled with brilliant speakers whom I’m sure you will enjoy.

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I hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it because of commitments or geography, no worries. I’ll share the recording when it’s live on TED’s YouTube Channel. Stay tuned.

Have you ever looked up at the sky at night and wondered about the Milky Way? Do you ever consider your actions and the effects they have on the universe? Do you want to become a better public speaker? Are you wondering what these have in common? Have I opened this post with too many questions?

I had the great pleasure of spending my birthday at TEDXNashville this year. Heather and I agreed that our favorite speaker was astrophysicist, Dr. Kelly Holley-Bockelmann. We decided "The Spacetime Symphony of Gravitational Waves" was our favorite because of several reasons. 

Why we chose Dr. Kelly Holley-Bockelmann's presentation as the best TEDX Nashville for 2016 

There were many amazing presentations, but The Spacetime Symphony of Gravitational Waves stood out for som

• She dumbed down an extremely complex topic so the audience would understand. Even I understood!
• Her passion for the topic was contagious. 
• Humor was used throughout the presentation that kept us laughing. 
• She reflected on something we all recognize, staring up to the Milky Way. I loved that she started with this and returned to it again at the end. 
• The presentation was interactive as the audience rose to take part in The Gravitational Wave Dance.
• She was the best-dressed presenter. Her dress was a memorable part of the presentation. 
• She left us with a profound thought that we must consider each day. 

As a public speaker, I always watch presenters with the intention of learning new ideas to deliver more impactful talks. This presentation was definitely one that will stick with me. 

Even if you have no interest in understanding supermassive black holes, spacetime, or gravitational waves, you must watch this presentation.

Get ready to learn why your choices matter and how they will be written into the universe. 

If you want to learn more about delivering a killer presentation, pick up a copy of Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds by Carmine Gallo.

Milky Way photo by James Wheeler