TEDx Insights: The art of crafting evocative talks with Pariti Sutaria

Pariti Sutaria, organizer of TEDxCamden and graduate student at Rutgers School of Business, joins Iveliz Crespo and Bareeq Barqawi to discuss the fascinating world of TEDx speaking and event organization. Join us as we delve into the intricacies of preparing for and securing a coveted spot on the TEDx stage. Discover behind-the-scenes insights into curating powerful, thought-provoking talks that resonate with a global audience. Whether you're an aspiring speaker or simply curious about the magic that makes TEDx events unforgettable, this episode is your backstage pass to the TEDx experience. Stay tuned to gain valuable insights from Pariti that will inspire and inform, exclusively for our dedicated community of Reed Smith attorneys and staff.

Transcript:

Intro: Hi, I'm John Iino and I'm Iveliz Crespo. Welcome to the Reed Smith podcast,  Inclusivity Included: Powerful Personal Stories. In each episode of this podcast, our guests will share their personal stories, passions and challenges, past and present all with the goal of bringing people together and learning more about others. You might be surprised by what we all have in common, inclusivity included.

Iveliz: Hello, everyone. Welcome to our podcast Inclusivity Included. I am your host, Iveliz Crespo and I'm joined today by our co-host Bareeq Barqawi. Bareeq is Reed Smith's DEI talent development analyst. So welcome Bareeq. So happy to have you join us today.

Bareeq: Thank you so much, Iveliz. I'm excited to be here. We are joined today by Pariti Sutaria, a graduate student at Rutgers School of Business pursuing her MBA with a concentration in marketing. She graduated this year with a Bachelors of Science in management statistics and leadership. Pariti is also the organizer of TEDxCamden, which brings annual TEDx talk conferences to the city of Camden to share ideas worth spreading within the local community and beyond. The TEDx talks and performances organized by Pariti and her team have garnered millions of views on ted.com and YouTube making a significant impact on a global scale.

As an immigrant and first generation student, Pariti is deeply committed to advocacy and activism with a particular focus on gender equity, anti colonialism and racial justice. In her free time, Pariti is a mehndi and henna artist who loves designing and doing traditional hand art. Welcome, Pariti.

Pariti: Hi. Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited to be here today.

Bareeq: Of course, we are excited to kick this off and discuss more of your experiences as a TEDxCamden organizer. So I'm gonna start with what inspired you to become involved in organizing TEDx events.

Pariti: Yeah, I would say honestly, the city of Camden, I really care about TEDx talk and I've always watched them ever since I was young and I feel so inspired and, and I wanna do like innovative work every time I hear different TEDx talks or TED Talks. And since then, I've always had a goal of, you know, attending a TED conference. And when I started college, I realized like, hey, I can put together a TEDx conferences myself. And so through a licensing process, TED has uh I was able to gain an organizer license to organize TEDx talks for the city. And now that's what we do. And I love bringing innovative and inspiring work and speakers and performers to Camden. Um and then also to kind of shed a global light on Camden, the city, what it has to offer from its like community, art culture, its people. Uh So people could also see Camden in a new light, Um maybe passive stereotypes.

Iveliz: Absolutely. I really appreciate that, you know, as I shared with you before we started recording this, this episode and I, I'm a Camden native. I'm really proud of where I grew up. Um And I'm happy to see that so many great things are happening in the city. And I think, you know, dispelling a lot of those stereotypes is incredibly important, uh especially, you know, given that there is so much promise in the city and people sometimes will often overlook that. So really appreciate the work that you do, you know, like anything that is a privilege to do. I think it's, it's all about access, right? Uh And so oftentimes you'll see that, you know, people who, who, who take advantage of opportunities are the people who have those opportunities to begin with. And so I'm curious for you, for those that may not be familiar. Could you briefly explain, you know what the process, what a TEDx is?

Pariti: Yeah. So Ted National has uh in a licensing process called TEDx where they offer individual communities, whether it be universities or cities, the chance to apply for a license and ultimately put together independently organized TED events in their own space. So it's individual communities that are putting together, you know, Ted like experiences, those conferences for their city, for their university, whatever their community it is that they received a license for. But then those talks are being produced the same way as TED talks would as TEDx talks. And then those TED talks then get posted on ted.com on TEDx YouTube and whatnot.

Bareeq: Very cool. We're gonna actually dive into it a little bit about how to organize an actual TEDx event. Uh But before we get into that, I wanted to discuss a little bit more about speaker selection because a lot of people I've heard so many people say it's on my bucket list. I want to be a TEDx speaker. So just to, to get our audience kind of excited about the topics at hand, how does one go about becoming a TEDx speaker? And what is the process actually like?

Pariti: Yeah, so there's different ways because there's thousands of TEDxs all over the world. So every selection process looks a little bit different based on where you apply just because every TEDx is individually organized. And, and so it looks different. Ultimately, they are being producers, TEDx talk. So the criteria is relatively the same and then the process of, of the talk being produced is still the same. However, the selection process does look a little bit different from organization to organization. For us It's pretty rigorous I would say. We have a, a very heavy curated process as well as the criteria for like what a TEDx talk is what it isn't what we wanna put on our stage. So I'm happy to kind of dive into that, but TEDx talks are accessible all over. So if, if you are able to like access to Google, I would Google ted.com/events and then that has a list of TEDx is coming up every, every month, every, you know, basically the ones that are lined up and you're able to like apply to any.

Bareeq: OK. It's really good to know. The next question actually, since we talked about it briefly. So let's speak about TEDxCamden specifically. Um So what are the specific qualifications and criteria that potential TEDx speakers should meet? I know you said it's a rigorous process. So what, what would that look like for TEDxCamden?

Pariti: Yeah. So I can go into the speaker selection process in terms of like what our criteria is for what we want to talk to be. I think speakers wise um that we have no criteria like no age, no gender, no race, like nothing. We are completely and solely looking at the idea we're spreading when you look at applications coming in. So you can be anyone from anywhere and apply. There is no limit or, or any guidelines as to like who the qualifications you need to give a TEDx talk. There are none. You can apply with your idea. And the idea is your, you know, credibility.

Bareeq: And so if it's, I know we mentioned before about the TEDx event, now, I know that there are sometimes you have themes, how do you select the theme for your event? And I'm sure that that's what's going to drive certain speakers to want to apply.

Pariti: Yeah. So the goal with themes is that we want them to be super broad and broad enough so that anyone applying can with whatever topic and say something under that theme. So that is also required of us by TED where themes are super,
super broad. Uh And so anyone who's applying isn't deterred to apply just because of the theme, the theme can be so far. So our very first conference, our theme was brand new ending. Um Recently, our theme was unanswered and the theme coming up for a conference is invincible from, you know, the notion of Camden invincible.

But so these themes are super broad. And the goal is that anyone from any topic, any expertise can speak on some part of it to and relate through that theme. So anyone can speak on, you know, business or mental health or tech or um health care and still speak on invincible part of whatever topic that they're speaking on, whatever idea that they're giving. Same thing with like unanswered, they can bring something unanswered to whatever topic that they're, you know, bringing on stage. So the goal is to have a theme that is super, super broad. Um So anyone on any topic can, can speak on it. And so we, you know, aim to do the same and the theme we try at least to make it cater to our community. So, since this is um TEDxCamden, the series' theme is invincible, just, you know, in spirit of Camden.

Bareeq: Yeah, I love that.

Iveliz: Absolutely. I love that as well. Given that it's on the side of our City Hall in particular, I think that's a really neat tie in. Well,
there's a quote about invisibility on the side of our city hall. So I think that's a really unique tie to the city. I guess for me, one of the things that I'm most curious about, obviously, you get a lot of people who are interested in participating in a TED talk and not everyone is going to have a story that is going to match the theme or a story that is carefully curated enough to get accepted.
And so I guess for you from your experience being on the administrative side of things and seeing all these proposals come in,
can you share any tips or insights on crafting a compelling TEDx proposal?

Pariti: Yeah, of course. So we this year got over 300 applications and we're choosing eight. So you can imagine like the curation process of what that entails because you have to like hone in. And I guess the one thing I retell everyone to really look at, um, when they, when they apply is to really, really ensure that whatever they're applying with their idea at its core is an idea where it's spreading. It's something new and innovative. Ultimately, you know, there's, there's just so many ideas out there but to bring something that is challenging and proactive that, you know, really inspires people to either live differently, do differently or think differently. It is hard, you know, it's challenging. And so we look at ideas that could do that that are unheard of or, or bringing like a compelling twist um to maybe a basic argument.

But ultimately, or us, it's making sure that the idea isn't a motivational speech or a hero's journey story or a research lecture. Like all of those things are not for the TEDx stage, but they're great, but not for the TEDx stage. For us, it is, you know, curious journey that a speaker is posing through an idea that is challenging and proactive at its core.

Iveliz: Yeah, thank you so much for sharing that. I think that's really great to hear and things that we can keep in mind too as we're even looking at proposals internally for speakers and the like. So thank you for sharing that insight.

Bareeq: Transitioning to the speaker experience, I actually had a, a friend of mine who did a TEDx talk and he wrote an article on how stressful it could be to be a TEDx speaker. Um you know, no one actually thinks like, oh, I wanna get selected, but the actual process is to memorize your entire script and to have the great flow and to have it be so natural and spontaneous, I think that was the word he used. Um So what, what are some of the key benefits and challenges that a TEDx speaker typically encounters?

Pariti: I'll start with benefits. I would say, you know, everyone that's done. A TEDx talk has told me like it's a life changing experience, you know, ultimately, it is on people's bucket lists and they often say like their writing and curation and critical thinking process changed after like their TEDx talk because at least for, for us, you know, we have heavy like six month curation. So they apply with an idea and then we could dive into that idea and curating it and you know, executing just delivery. There's the whole like delivery side of things. But before that, there's the whole like the content side of things like what it is that you're putting out into the world and making it ready for the TEDx stage.

So benefits wise, I would say the number one thing we see is the global visibility. Ultimately, when you are doing a TEDx talk, it's ensuring that it is going to be seen by so many people that are TEDx fans that watch TED Talks that, you know, love ideas worth spreading. So when you do a TEDx Talk, it is you sharing an idea to an international audience and that itself is very amazing, I would say, and that's the key benefit to why most people apply in the first place in the first place. It's because they want their idea to reach a global audience and because they think that the idea is worth spreading to a global audience.

And then challenges wise, I think the biggest one, as you mentioned is the curation piece of it. It's getting ready for the talk, the execution of it because it's such a long process. I think the tension builds up with time. You know, it's not like you get chosen and then you're giving the TEDx talk the next day, it's like your, your initial idea was just chosen and now you have to create this TEDx talk and then execute it. So it is a long process of curation and, and, and work and script writing. Um critical thinking.

We have a heavy feedback process like just constant back and forth for the first two months. Our conference cycle runs generally from like May to March of two years. Basically, I would say so this year, like May 2023 to March 2024 the conference, our conferences happened in January. Um but there's like post production work, we have to do some March for us, but generally conferences are in January. Um We start the speaker selection process in May speakers are selected by August and then like September, October, November, December, January is just curation for these speakers. So, you know, the first two months is literally just feedback, like change this, change that, that heavy focus on this, bring me want to that. So it's a lot.

Um And then it's like memorizing it, working with your speaker coach to deliver it in a way that's compelling that brings the audience in and release and articulates your idea at the center of your talk. That's the number one thing. It's like you want to talk to be about the idea and not you. And that's the thing to the talk isn't gonna be about the speaker. And that's what makes a TEDx Talk for the TEDx stage. But the, their entire talk has to be about their idea and, and, you know, articulated every single thing at the center should be the idea that you're spreading. Um And to do that, you know, on a stage is, is a lot. So I think it's, it's, it is really challenging process, but the benefit is that whatever you end up saying it's, it's reaching an international stage and it, it is changing people's lives. So I think that's, that's the ultimate like, yay,

Iveliz: That's amazing. And, and I really love what you said there. I think it's easy to get up and talk about yourself for X amount of time. But when you remove yourself from the equation, you have to talk about your idea. I think that that's a lot harder for people to do. So I appreciate that. It's a really long process and that people get a lot of feedback along the way. I think that that's certainly probably helpful for a lot of people. For me, I guess one of the things I'm curious about, I mean, look, you know, as someone who does this work, I've seen a lot of presentations, I've seen a lot of speakers some more compelling than others,
but you get a unique experience of looking at some of the best speakers, you know, in this, on this coast. And so for me, I guess I'd like to know if you could describe it a memorable or impactful TEDx talk that you've organized and what made it stand out for you?

Pariti: I guess this answer will be perfect to what we always say, which is that, you know, your public speaking skills can be developed. But what matters is your idea? And once again, even right now, we have produced what, like so many TEDx talks by now. But one idea that still sticks with me because it was so innovative was by uh Sinead Bovell. Not to say she's not a great speaker. She's a great public speaker, but it was her idea that, you know, so, so is everyone that applies to TEDx, they great public speakers. So we, you know, don't really have to worry about the speaking piece of it. We're not worried that they might be a bad speaker because when you're applying to a TEDx talk, it's generally not your first speaking experience. It's more so the idea and, and by profession she's a futurist and her idea this was, this was a couple of years ago, I think it's a lot more relevant now and a lot more seen now.

But a couple of years ago, I was like, mind blown uh because she talked about uh robotic cultural appropriation and how, you know, digital avatars are being like racially appropriated in, in today's digital age and what that looks like and, and next steps for it. And I just thought that was such an amazing talk because we see, you know, we're entering, not entering, we are in a technological age. We see more and more different things every day and to talk about it in that space and,
and what she was posing, I would, you know, recommend everyone, check out her talk. It's on our, um TEDxCamden, uh YouTube as well as TEDx YouTube and on and on ted.com. But I think that's the talk that really does stand out to me.

Bareeq: That's what I actually, I'm gonna go back and watch that one because that sounds like a really interesting topic, not something I considered. But once you said the topic, I was like, Oh, I was like that, that's something that I definitely want to check out, especially in this day and age. I feel like that's the digital era is just like fastly moving and we have to kind of keep up and make sure that we remove biases as much as we can. So my next question actually is going to be about hosting the TEDx event. We touched on it briefly in the beginning. Um You talked about getting a license in order to organize an event. So can you walk us through some of the essential steps? It doesn't have to be everything, but what are some of those essential steps involved in organizing such an event?

Pariti: So we have teams in marketing, finance, logistics, curation and technology. Although our technology team kind of like partners with marketing. Um And so those are our like core groups and these groups ultimately, you know, come together to execute the conference, but individually, they work on their, their own I would say tasks every week. So finance has its own timeline because we are completely funding this conference of $50,000 every year that we have to fundraise from scratch every year. So we have our own process of, you know, reaching out to stakeholders in the city, small businesses, corporations and, and fundraising for this event.

So that starts as soon as our conference cycle starts in May of the year before the conference right into like November by November, which is like two months before the conference. We aim to have all the funds that we need in order to execute it. And that money goes into videography, stage design, uh speaker accommodations and just everything that a conference entails.

Then we have marketing. Now that timeline is a little bit later that I would say we start September and, and kind of raise a lot of like hype for the conference. And by December, it's like a lot of marketing for the conference because you want as many people to, you know, come out to reach Camden residents to reach local residents for like the live audience. And then we also live stream the conference. So we wanna reach an international audience. So just a lot of marketing that goes into it um as well as marketing our speakers, their ideas and logistics wise, it's from September as well into, into January because we work with our venue and our production team kind of get ready for the heavy, you know, curation that Ted provides on, on curating a conference with certain cameras with certain lighting with a certain stage. We have to create our TEDxCamden letters.

So overall, just a lot of logistics that go in with the venue and then last but not least is the curation process, which is the longest process as I previously shared that goes from, from May all the way up to January, um where we select speakers through two rounds. Um and then final speakers as well as final performers get plenty of time to get ready for their talk. And then post production is I would say around two months, we, you know, the talks get filmed and edited, but then we have to send them to TED uh before the, we send them to TED or before the talks are even executed. We fact check the talks through coaches we have. So it's just a lot that goes into it. But these teams do their, you know, own work and then come together to execute this final conference every year.

Iveliz: Well thank you for that. I guess, you know, this is the podcast title is Inclusivity Included: Powerful Personal Stories. And so for us, you know, one of the priorities we have is we like to showcase different stories from people from diverse backgrounds. And I know that's a consideration that you folks take into account when you're, when you're selecting speakers. So from your perspective, how do you go about creating an inclusive and diverse lineup of speakers?

Pariti: One of the easiest ways to do that is by ensuring that we have a variety of different topics at our conference because that also ensures a variety in audience, a variety in speakers. Because if we have different topics that are, you know, from people from completely different walks of life, then we are having a conference that has so many different topics that anyone uh attending can gain something out of it from the variety and performers and speakers. So the number one thing we ensure is that we have uh like a stark variety in, in what, what it is that we are putting out into the conference.

Every talk is between like 5 to 15 minutes. Generally most talks are 10 minutes at. Every conference has so far, I had like around 10 speakers and like 2 to 4 performers. And so every talk has been on a topic that is completely different. So it's like 10 completely different topics from, from mental health to nutrition and wellness to business, to tech, the health care, like just completely different topics.

And then we also make sure and this is given to us by TED that we are catering our talks to our local community. So what it is that we're putting out does benefit Camden before it benefits the world. Uh kind of like putting on your mask before you worry about putting other people putting on their mask kind of thing where it's like we're not, firstly, we're not worried about the global audience, we're worried about Camden. So it's like, will this um and what the idea that is being spread benefits Camden, the people of Camden, the residents that live in Camden, what Camden represents, who Camden represents. We never wanna be tone deaf. So like, yes, a talk about maybe a talk about like nutrition and wellness on like a privileged platform might look good for another city. But for TEDxCamden, we're, you know, not putting out a talk that talks about something that are, you know, residents would feel not accessible at all for the city. So we never wanna be tone deaf in that sense.

So because of that, we ensure that whatever the talk they were putting out, if they kind of address and innovate on a local level, we know they will also innovate on a global scale. Because anyone watching those talks on a local level, if they feel inspired, then on a global level, it's like guaranteed that they will just because of the way Camden is in our city is. So that's like another way we make sure that, that we're, you know, doing the right work is by making sure like, hey, will this talk benefit Camden will Camden residents want to watch this talk or see this talk? And then if they answer yes, then we move on like, OK, and then what about a global scale? Like will an international audience benefit from this talk?

Iveliz: I think that's a great point. You know, I still remember as I mentioned, I'm a Camden native. I still remember I went to see someone speak one time and they made a comment because they were late to coming to the stage and they made a comment about how they took a wrong turn. And they said, you know, I ended up in a place in Camden that you never want to end up in.
And the audience kind of awkwardly laughed. But like me, as someone who's a native and, you know, is from the city, I certainly remember how I felt and I was more mad than I was, you know, laughing at, at this kind of joke. And, but I think it's important to be respectful and realize who your audience is because at the end of the day, you're there to service the community.

Bareeq: I was actually gonna say, I love the fact that you, you always approach it from the lens of Camden and the people of Camden and how you make it so accessible and relatable to the people there. Like I like that's your priority and that's what you kind of use to navigate the TEDx conference and as you organize it, which is really powerful. Um As we get close to wrapping up, I did have a question for you Pariti can you offer any advice or encouragement to individuals who aspire to become either TEDx speakers or TEDx organizers, whether you know what skills and qualities uh should they work on or strive for and would love to hear what you think is, is something of value as people kind of partake in that journey.

Pariti: Yeah. So for TEDx speakers, I would say, as I've said, maybe too many times throughout this podcast is that they should solely focus on their idea or spreading that the, that the work that they're putting out, that the idea that they're presenting is something one that is like, super clear and focused. You know, this talk isn't an hour long, it's gonna be like 10 minutes long and they can't jam pack it with like 10 different things they wanna say. It has to be like one specific idea that's like articulated,
well, you know, can be taken well from an audience and is innovative.

It inspires but it's also challenging and proactive and it, it's really challenging people basically to leave the space being like, I didn't think about it this way or like now I'm gonna change the way I think about this or, or live in this way or, or do in this way. So that's definitely the ultimate thing for TEDx speakers. Another thing I think people often overlook as a speaker is like the timeless piece of talks. Like we want the TEDx Talks and, you know, TED Talks to be timeless, meaning people can watch it five years later, 10 years later and still get value from the talk. So often if people apply with things that only cater to now in the sense of something that's happening right now, it's like we need something more out of it because it's like, ok, but someone watches it next year, why would they care?

So that's another thing where it's like an idea where spreading has to really be an idea. We're spreading for any audience, for any anyone at any time. So I would definitely encourage any, anyone looking to give a TEDx talk to really hone in on their, on their idea and make sure it's something that is, is innovative and new at its core. There's so many examples of that but like shameless plug, check out the Talks that TEDxCamden produces. And as for TEDx organizers, I think this is a lot more challenging because as an organizer, it's just countless hours and hours and hours of like volunteer work, a literal, like blood shed tears and like, just this is so much, I would say that goes into organizing a TEDx event that I wouldn't do it just because, like, I would only do it if anyone's interested in being an organizer if you're super passionate, either about, you know, ideas about TED Talks or about bringing some to your community that, you know, will, you know, bring a positive light to the community or, or change the way people think or bring innovative speakers or performers to your stage. Like there's a lot of reasons. Um But I would say, like, choose organizing for the right reasons because otherwise the process is like, not worth it at all. Like if you're not passionate about, about TED Talks or, or innovative ideas or, you know what you're putting as the community. I think anything else will just feel like a chore and like, you will not be putting on a high quality event at all or, or benefiting anyone from the talks that are being produced if it's not something you, you feel passionate about.

So I would say to anyone interested in organizing or you know, any organizing teams out there to really, really, really want to do it because like, if you want to, then it will happen. Because once again, like for example like, I started from scratch, I didn't even know that I could put together TEDx events and we found a way in Camden with like $0. Um So now like where we are, it's like once you, if you have like the passion for it and the drive for it, like the work will show up for itself uh because you'll be putting in what, what's needed to organize this event. But otherwise it's, it's honestly not worth it if it's not something you truly feel passionate about because it is just so much, it's just a lot.

Iveliz: Thank you for that insight, you know, and we really appreciate you joining us. Um We know that, you know, you're very busy and I'm sure you have a lot on your plate, but we really appreciate you coming and sharing your story and also advising and giving advice to people who may be thinking about, hey, I one day want to get this off my bucket list. So again, thank you so much. We really enjoy having you.

Pariti: Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure. Feel free to reach out LinkedIn or check out our work at tedxcamden.org.

Bareeq: Thank you so much.

Outro: Inclusivity Included is a Reed Smith production. Our producer is Ali McCardell. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher PodBean and reedsmith.com.

Disclaimer: This podcast is provided for educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice, and is not intended to establish an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to suggest or establish standards of care applicable to particular lawyers in any given situation. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Any views, opinions, or comments made by any external guest speaker are not to be attributed to Reed Smith LLP or its individual lawyers.

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