Where do you find your speakers?
We search year-round for presenters who will inform and inspire, surprise and delight. But a lot of our speakers come from recommendations from you! If you know someone who belongs on the TED stage, or if you belong there yourself, we want to hear from you. Please use our speaker recommendation form.
You can also read about speaking at TED.
How do I suggest a speaker?
The best way to submit any speaker to TED is through our speaker nomination form.
We accept nominations on a rolling basis. Once submitted, your nomination will stay in our speaker database so that we may consider your submission as we plan future programs for TED conferences.
Regrettably, we're not able to respond personally to each suggestion due to the high volume of nominations we receive. Please also note that we are unable to respond with an application status at any point, or to let you know whether or not your proposed speaker is likely to be a fit.
We really value speaker nominations, as we find many of our incredible speakers through recommendations and nominations from the community.
We look forward to reviewing your nomination!
What do you look for in a speaker?
All of our speakers are carefully vetted by our curation team. Our presenters run the world's most admired companies and design its best-loved products; they invent world-changing devices and create ground-breaking media. They are trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses. TED is the place to give the talk of your life.
Collectively, TED speakers have won every major prize awarded for excellence, including the Nobel, Pritzker, Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Tony and MacArthur "genius" grant. TED also seeks out emerging artists, scientists and thinkers, introducing them to the TED community well before they hit the mainstream.
If you know someone who belongs on our roster, let us know via our speaker nomination form.
You can also read more about speaking at TED.