I’ve spent my career helping businesses grow through emotional storytelling, but getting on TED was a goal I needed help with. 

Naturally, I ended up finding Thought Leader (leadr.co), so here’s my take on the program and the experience I had.

I’d like to think my perspective is a little different than most, because I already knew my messaging. Still, it’s fair to say their program taught me a lot.

Yes, I got a TED talk… and you’ll hear my honest thoughts 

But before that, I also presented at places like Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange, and I co-host The Empire Builders Podcast.

The support around delivery was especially strong, which helped me go beyond what I already knew about storytelling. The coaching they provide on energy levels, flow, and everything your talk needs to go through is excellent. (You really have to be rehearsed and practiced to do it well, and they help you get there)

Compared to other speaking gigs I’ve done, TED required a very different approach. 

While I brought a lot of my own experience to the table, gaining step-by-step insights through the process was invaluable. What stood out the most is that no other coaching company has such a publicly documented track record of successfully helping people land TED talks.

But here’s the truth—if you’re not prepared to do the promotional work, you can put in all the effort and still end up with a talk that gets a couple hundred views. That’s why the launch strategy they gave me was such a game-changer. It was straightforward, totally doable, and built on the idea that if you follow it, your talk will hit at least 50,000 views—no fluff, just a clear system that works.

Because let’s be real: it’s really hard to confidently share something that only has 250 views. Telling people, “Go check out my TED talk, it’s got 250 views,” doesn’t exactly build credibility. But saying, “It’s already got almost 10,000 likes” changes the conversation. You feel more confident saying it, and people are way more likely to respond with, “Oh wow, 10,000 likes? That’s amazing.” Now they’re actually interested in watching it.

That kind of traction creates more curiosity. And the more curious people are, the more likely they are to actually watch the talk. Once that starts happening, the talk begins to take on a life of its own.

Thought Leader helped me understand that there’s the getting of the talk, the delivering of the talk, and then the promoting and leveraging of it. That last step, promotion, is often overlooked, but it’s crucial.

It’s true: a great talk with no visibility won’t get you far. But a talk that’s seen and shared can make a real impact, especially if it’s TED.

So, Is It Worth It?

Thought Leader isn’t cheap. It’s not quick. And it’s not a shortcut.

But it is real. And it is work.

What they helped me do was go beyond simply crafting a message — they supported me in the delivery and showed me how to make sure people actually engage with it. Their coaching gave me tools I didn’t have before, even with my background in messaging and marketing.

For anyone thinking about going this route: know that it takes effort, especially if you want the message to live beyond the talk. That’s where the leverage is. That’s where the momentum builds.

And that’s what Thought Leader helped prepare me for.

Thought-Leader LLC is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by TED Conferences, LLC or any of its affiliates.