7 Things TED Speakers Do That Most Christian Speakers Don't

You've watched TED talks. You've probably watched dozens. And if you're honest, some of those 18-minute presentations stuck with you longer than sermons you've heard over the past year.

That's not a criticism of sermons. It's an observation about craft. TED speakers are trained to communicate with precision. And most Christian speakers - whether they're on church platforms or corporate stages - haven't been taught these same techniques.

The good news? You can learn them. And when you combine the communication skills TED teaches with the message God has put in your heart, you become a speaker people don't just listen to. They remember you.

Why Craft Matters for Christian Speakers

There's a false idea floating around that if your message is from God, the delivery doesn't matter much. That the Holy Spirit will do the heavy lifting. And while that's true in a spiritual sense, it doesn't excuse lazy preparation.

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

God deserves our best work. The audience deserves our best work. Whether you're speaking at a women's retreat or a Fortune 500 leadership summit, excellence in delivery honours the message and the One who gave it to you.

7 Techniques From TED You Can Use Today

1. Start with a story, not a thesis. TED's speaker guidelines are clear on this: open with something human. Not "Today I'm going to talk about..." but a moment. A scene. A person. Something that puts the audience inside an experience before you ever make your point. Chris Anderson, head of TED, calls this creating a "knowledge gap" - making the audience curious enough to lean in. Too many Christian speakers open with a greeting, a thank you, and a Bible verse. And while there's nothing wrong with any of those things, they don't create urgency. Start with the story first. Ground the audience in something they can feel. Then bring in the truth.

2. Build around one idea. Not three. Not five. One. TED limits speakers to a single core idea because audiences can't hold more than that. Most Christian speakers try to cover too much ground. Pick the one thing you want people to walk away with. Build everything around it.

3. Use specific language. Don't say "I was going through a hard time." Say "I was sitting in my car in the Tesco car park at 2pm on a Tuesday, crying into a cold cup of coffee." Specifics create pictures. Pictures create connection.

4. Earn every minute. TED talks are 18 minutes or less. Not because attention spans are short, but because every minute needs to deliver value. If a section of your talk doesn't serve the core idea, cut it. Brendon Burchard teaches the same principle in his speaker training - he calls it "earning the right to keep talking." Every minute, you re-earn their attention.

5. Rehearse more than you think you need to. TED speakers rehearse dozens of times before they step on stage. Michael Port, author of "Steal the Show," argues that rehearsal is what separates professionals from amateurs. It's not about memorising a script. It's about knowing your material so well that you can be fully present with your audience instead of searching for what comes next.

6. Let the pause do the work. Most speakers rush through their best lines. TED coaches train speakers to pause after a key statement. Let it land. Give the audience time to feel it. A three-second pause after a powerful sentence does more than five sentences of explanation.

7. Close with a clear call. TED talks don't just trail off. They end with a specific, memorable close. Your audience should know exactly what you want them to think, feel, or do. Not a vague "go and be blessed" but a concrete next step that sticks.

What This Means for You

You don't have to become a TED speaker to benefit from their methods. But you do need to take your craft seriously. Every time you step onto a platform - whether it's a church stage, a podcast mic, or a corporate keynote - you're representing something bigger than yourself.

The best Christian speakers in the world are not the ones with the biggest audiences. They're the ones who are constantly learning, constantly refining, constantly asking "how can I communicate this truth more clearly?" They treat every talk as an act of worship. And they back that up with real preparation.

The speaking industry notices excellence. Event organisers remember the speaker who was prepared, engaging, and left the room better than they found it. When that speaker also happens to be a person of faith and integrity, doors open. Invitations come back. And the Gospel goes further - not because you preached it, but because you lived it on stage.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."

Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

Your message already has eternal weight. These techniques simply make sure it lands the way it deserves to.

Try this today: Take your next talk and identify the one core idea. Write it in a single sentence. Then go through every section and ask: does this serve the one idea? If not, cut it or save it for another talk. Then pick one of the seven techniques above and apply it deliberately in your next rehearsal. Don't try all seven at once. Master one, then move to the next.

Want to Keep Growing?

This is exactly the kind of thing we work on inside the NCAPS community. Speaker craft. Business growth. Faith and platform. If you want to sharpen your skills alongside other Christian speakers who take both their calling and their craft seriously, take a look at what NCAPS membership offers.