Any standard conference will feature a presentations that educate the crowd. However, each and every TEDx Talk features a single core idea. The speaker then takes a deep dive into the single idea by using stories, examples, research, and or studies that all reinforce the main idea. The relevance of each reinforcing concept must be acknowledged by the speaker. This is the concept we we call throughline.

Before you pitch a TEDx organization, you must look within yourself and discover exactly what your core idea truly is. The more specific and unique it is, the better.

When attending TED events, like TEDFest in New York City at TED HQ, we have been able to build relationships with the TED team who manages TEDx organizing teams. TED specifically has communicated how idea uniqueness is vital when considering the value of a potential TEDx Talk idea.

This document intends to solve this issue. To help you best discover your core idea. To put you on the fastest path to formulating that idea so you can best pitch a TEDx organization or continue to develop your existing concept. Whether it’s TEDxWilmington or another group, most TEDx organizers are all looking for something similar.

But where to start? That is where you are today. You would not be reading this document if you have not achieved some level of success in something, and are considering giving a TEDx Talk and sharing your idea with the world.

How can you possibly stand out and differentiate yourself from the existing 125,000+ already delivered TEDx Talks?

As of the beginning of 2019, that is how many TEDx talks are public on the TEDx Talks YouTube channel. To get started, you must ask yourself three systematic questions.

Question 1: Where are you credible?

Typically a speaker approaches their idea worth spreading within an industry they have been working in for some time. Where do you have experience? What skills do you have? Have you won awards or achieved greatness to some degree? Where are you credible? Three things to remember in your TEDx journey are these. Why you? Why now? Why care?

Question 2: Where are you passionate?

As you progress in life, you learn many things. You most likely have developed many skills. But few of those areas lead to passion, deeper learning, and the ambition to invest dozens of hours to develop a great TEDx Talk. The TEDx platform can expose your idea to potentially millions of people. TEDxWilmington has several with over 1 million views.

Continuing on, examine which topic, at this moment in time, is your greatest passion. The best way to unravel that area is to ask yourself this question. For example, say you could make $10 million dollars a year doing whatever you like every single day, 40 hours a week, each and every week – what would you want that to be?

Question 3: What is your story?

This question is the keystone in understanding the right idea worth spreading for you. There are many skilled individuals in the world, most likely more skilled than you, who have an identical answer to Question 1.

Many of those people find passion within that skill-set or experience pool or credibility. However, this third and final question is what makes you truly unique. Remember what the TEDx platform seeks – uniqueness!

There is something about your life, your journey, your perspective that makes you different from everyone else on this planet. No one can have an identical story as you. Below is an example to help you connect to the concept.

With credibility covered, the next step is to explore passion. Typically a speaker has passions in several areas. You must choose one. Like many entrepreneurs, Markevis embarked on a journey to detect his passion in life. Since, he has become passionate about helping others find their own purpose in life. He wanted to create a road map for others to do the same, and he is passionate about this.

So far, question one and two are covered. His credibility is around entrepreneurship, and his passion is about helping others unlock their reason for life. The final and most important aspect to finding his exact idea worth spreading is through answering question three – what makes Markevis unique?

Uniqueness in life is about your personal journey. Your individual story. No one shares your story. There are lots of entrepreneurs in the world, and many want to help others find their path, purpose, and passion. But what made Markevis different is how he discovered his passion.

After graduation from college in 2010, Markevis moved to China for five years. Yes, five full years. Here he started several ventures that allowed him to fully understand that entrepreneurship was for him.

This is the special part that makes Markevis’s road to the TEDx stage different from most other entrepreneurs. The combination of entrepreneurship + passion for helping others discover purpose + living in China for five years. After understanding this combination of three integral components, he was able to communicate his lesson learned. Through this discovery, his idea worth spreading of “Find Your China” was unveiled. Use the diagram below for help.