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Comment by snewk | Hacker News Reader

so, i have a speaking engagement at a local TEDx event next weekend. I think my topic is both interesting and educational, and the way its presented will (hopefully) get people thinking about the subject in a new way. what do i do? cancel?

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I think the point is there's a very low signal:noise ratio when it comes to TEDx talks. Do your topic and knock it out of the park. It should raise the aggregate quality of available talks.

If nothing else, it's practice and exposure for you. If your talk's truly worthwhile, you've raised the value proposition for others. If it fits the mold, well, there's that then.

Troll them with a great talk like "How to Deconstruct Almost Anything". [1]

"Academics get paid for being clever, not for being right." -- Donald Norman

http://www.fudco.com/chip/deconstr.html

I am a troll at heart, but over the last few months i've become friends with the event organizers. As much as trolling would be fun, I feel it would be a betrayal of their trust.

Why cancel? Even if it's true that people come for charisma rather than ideas, it's still an honour that people want to hear you speak.

Personally, I consider TED a form of high quality entertainment, and while I don't think it's changing the world, I do have a lot of respect for the people giving talks.

If I could talk like the people at TED, and was invited to speak about a topic dear to me, there's no way I'd turn down the offer.

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