Jackie Simmons on TEDx Stage

Three ways building your credibility will destroy your business.

Blog
May 05, 2025•4 min read

Have you noticed the number of ads from well-intentioned coaches, all determined to help you build your credibility to build your business?  

 

They seem to come in four categories, and all tell a great story about how their clients are getting more views of their TEDx Talks, more subscribes to their YouTube Channels, more reviews on their books, etc.  

 

What they are not telling you is the true investment you will need to make in terms of your time, talent, and treasure to gain a NET RETURN on your investment.  

 

They will give you lots of reasons to trust them, they tell you about their history and their defeats and then their eventual success and the successes of some of their clients. Have you noticed what’s not being shared? 

 

The Numbers. The actual hard costs that will not only require you to invest, but the act of investing will also interfere with your ability to earn money while you’re working on whichever credibility-building path(s) you’re on.  

 

Here’s what I learned giving my TEDx Talk:  

The true cost of a TEDx stage:  

  1. Professional coaching (unless you are using only the free coaching provided by your TEDx organizer, if they offer one).  

  1. Travel, lodging, meals if your stage is out of town.  

  1. Gathering ORGANIC views of your talk, (organic views require specialized help and/or a massive network; using paid advertising for views is forbidden by the rules of TED, the owner of all things related to TEDx and can get your talk taken down, totally defeating any benefit to humanity or the bank, HIP National).  

  1. Not to mention the hours of: 

  1. submitting proposals,  

  1. getting your topic approved, oh and . . .  

  1. writing the script draft,  

  1. practicing it to an audience you provide for yourself,  

  1. receiving feedback,  

    a. talking with your coach,  

    b. amending your draft,  

  1. practicing it to a new audience and repeating #5 multiple times. 

  1. choosing a wardrobe, etc.  

All so that you

  • can get your script approved,

  • deliver your talk,

  • pull short (less than 30 seconds long) snippets from the talk once it’s available,

  • compile a marketing piece to attract organic views, and

  • respond to all comments if your talk is lucky enough to be allowed* on YouTube.  

*Did you know that TED owns your talk, your video, and all rights to it?  
My Talk waited almost 6 months before being approved.  

TEDx Summary:  

Before investing any of your Time, Talent, or Treasure: ASK yourself these five key questions:  

  1. Is your audience of clients even looking at TEDx Talks?
    If Yes, are the topics related to yours?  

  1. Are there other, well-viewed talks on your topic, already up on YouTube?
    If Yes, you’re in a better position than most, unless you answered No to the first question.  

  2. Is your talk topic in alignment with your business or a Labor of Love? 

  3. Has the coach you are considering hiring shown you the views ALL their clients have had, or only the top three? 

  4. Has the coach you are considering hiring shared with you the NET return on investment for their clients in terms of recouping hard costs as well as gaining new clients? 

MOST coaches of any kind are NOT experts in all the required components of a successful TEDx Talk:

  • acquiring a stage,

  • compelling script writing and refining,

  • presentation skills,

  • TEDx rules,

  • organic views, and

  • turning YouTube views into valuable clients.  

Your Message Matters, so does how you deliver it.  

There’s a value scale that I’d like to share with you.  

How I rate GIVING a TEDx Talk: On a scale of 1 to 10 . . .

  • where 1 is a TOTAL waste of Time, Talent, and Treasure and

  • where 10 is TOTALLY Worth it, the BEST investment of all three EVER!: 

Personal Satisfaction: 6 out of 10 

Personal Growth: 10 out of 10 

Credibility Builder: 8 out of 10 (for getting speaking gigs ON THE TOPIC of my talk, otherwise, how would I know?) 

Business Builder: after 5+ years it’s still a ?? out of 10. 

Promotion Attraction on a scale of 1 being totally invisible to 10 being totally visible and receiving multiple offers to hire multiple coaches and purchase multiple related and non-related programs:
10 out of 10 !!!!  

. . . until I learned how to honor my talk.  

If I hold a limited seat workshop for only 12 people on how to get more value from building your credibility, would you like to be invited to apply to be one of the 12? 

Please email me and let me know if you’re interested in attending in person in the Sarasota, FL area or online. My email is always: [email protected] 

 
The next post will be about the idea of writing or co-writing a book for building credibility.   

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