Coaching by occasionAges 12–19
TEDx & TED-Ed Student Talks
An idea worth spreading, delivered like it deserves
A TEDx talk is the hardest format most students will ever face: eight to fifteen minutes, alone on a stage, no lectern, one idea that has to carry the whole thing. It is also filmed, and the video lasts forever. We coach students through the full arc: pressure-testing the idea, structuring the talk so it builds instead of wanders, writing for the ear rather than the page, and rehearsing the delivery down to the pauses. Students preparing to apply get help sharpening the idea and the application; students with a confirmed slot get a rehearsal plan working back from the event date.
- When families come
- 4–10 weeks before the event
- Usual format
- 1-on-1 sessions
- Ages
- Ages 12–19
- Cost to start
- Free consultation
What the coaching works on
What actually decides it
The idea itself
Pressure-testing the through-line: what is the one thing the audience should think differently about when the talk ends
Structure that builds
Openings that earn the next minute, a middle that escalates, and an ending that lands the idea instead of trailing off
Writing for the ear
Sentences a speaker can actually say, stories doing the work of statistics, and cuts that get a draft down to time
Memory and the red circle
A memorization method built on structure rather than rote lines, plus stagecraft: stillness, movement, and what to do with your hands
The plan
How we use the time
Weeks 1–2
Idea and outline
The coach and student pressure-test the core idea, then build the talk’s spine: the through-line, the stories, the turns.
Weeks 3–5
Draft and cut
Full drafts read aloud in session, rewritten for the ear, and cut to time. This is where a decent talk becomes a tight one.
Final weeks
Rehearse to performance
Off-book run-throughs with the coach directing delivery: pacing, pauses, movement, and recovery when a line slips. The last rehearsals are filmed and reviewed together.
Where it lives
The programs that fit
1-on-1 Private Coaching
Ages 11–19A talk this size needs sessions built around it: idea work, draft reviews, and directed rehearsal on a schedule that tracks the event date.
Explore 1-on-1 CoachingInterview & Presentation
Ages 15–19For students who want structured presentation craft alongside the talk, in a small group.
Explore Interview & PresentationStart tonight, free
Guides and printables for this
Good to know
Parents ask us
My student is applying to a TEDx Youth event but does not have a slot yet. Too early?
Not at all. The application usually asks for the idea and sometimes a short video, and both are much stronger after a few sessions of idea work. Students who start before the application also walk into the event with most of the talk already built.
How long does a TEDx talk take to prepare properly?
For a ten-minute talk, six to ten weeks of weekly sessions is comfortable: two for the idea and outline, three for drafting and cutting, and the rest for rehearsal. It can compress if the event is closer; tell us the date and we will build the plan backward from it.
Do you coach the memorization?
Yes, and it is where most student talks fall apart. We teach memorization built on the talk’s structure rather than word-perfect recital, so a slipped line costs a beat instead of the whole talk.
Tell us the date. We will map the rest.
A free consultation covers the goal, the timeline, and the honest answer on what fits before the day.