This past June, Maud van Merriënboer and more than a dozen others had the opportunity to participate in a TED Talk training organized by the VU Network Institute. The goal of the training was to help researchers develop the skills needed to deliver an engaging TED-style talk about their work.
The trainer was Geerteke van Lierop, an experienced TED educator. Over the course of the training, Geerteke taught the participants about techniques for crafting a compelling narrative, techniques for effective public speaking, and tips for using visual aids.
At the end of the day, each participant delivered a short practice talk incorporating what was learned. Then all attendees voted for the talk they thought would benefit most from additional training. The top vote-getter from each group would advance to the finals.
The three finalists sent a video recording of their talk via e-mail and a jury decided on a winner. Maud was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the three finalists from her group. This earned her an additional 1.5 hours of one-on-one coaching from Geerteke to refine her talk. This helped tighten up her message and presentation skills in time for the intended video recording of her winning talk.
On October 20th, Maud presented her talk in front of an audience of about 20 people in the NU building, where it was recorded. Maud spoke about the importance of inclusive entrepreneurship for the development of diverse technologies that address the grand challenges of our time. You can see the great talk here
Maud giving her winning talk