I am excited to share that I recently delivered my first TEDx talk, “From Chaos to Control: Leading Through the First Moments of Crisis.” The video won’t be out for several weeks, but the journey to TEDx KULeuven was both challenging and rewarding—unlike any other presentation I’ve ever given.
And a lot of people have asked how I prepared for the talk.
I’ve got a TON of lessons that I look forward to sharing in a series of posts and perhaps a full guide…but for now, I’ll take a moment to focus on perhaps the most important aspect of preparation: the mental game.
Mental Preparation for TEDx
In every way, TEDx was a crucible—a formative experience that challenged me to focus like never before.
One lesson I learned (or perhaps relearned) is the importance of thought discipline, focus, and visualization.
In any big endeavor, the mental game must equal or exceed the task you’re pursuing. If not, you’ll need to adapt quickly or risk becoming overwhelmed and falling short.
From the moment I received the acceptance email on January 2, I knew this opportunity would require total focus if I wanted to deliver for the audience two months later.
I culled irrelevant information streams, especially on YouTube and the already limited news feeds I followed (which isn’t easy to do these days).
I set up my workspace to reinforce my goal—displaying a TEDx photo in my eyeline and rearranging furniture so I could practice on a circular rug that roughly matched the famous TEDx red dot.
I also learned to be ruthless about my thought discipline. I dedicated my uncommitted mental time to my talk—memorizing lines, testing delivery methods, rehearsing, and visualizing success.
In the car. Walking into the office. On runs and rides. Brushing my teeth.
Even while lying in bed—when a hundred random thoughts tend to pop up—I learned to forcefully push away anything that didn’t support my TEDx preparation.
Extreme? Perhaps. But I knew what it would take to perform… and I wasn’t there yet.
I also knew I would have to spend dozens, even hundreds, of hours preparing—and I didn’t have moments to waste on frivolous thoughts.
Did my process work? To me, it did.
I delivered exactly as I had rehearsed and shared my best work with the audience that night. As a result—at least in my mind—whether my talk resonates with the online audience will depend on the content, not the quality of my presentation.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts when it comes out in a few weeks!
Questions for Leaders
- What presentation or performance in your life deserves your best mental preparation?
- How could you increase your focus by removing distractions like unnecessary social media feeds and useless thoughts?
- Who in your sphere of influence needs to improve their own mental preparation? How can you share what you know to help them level up?
For an insightful resource on mental toughness and unshakable performance, I highly recommend The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance by Dr. Nate Zinsser. (recommended to me by Anthony Randall) The Director of West Point’s influential Performance Psychology Program shares the secrets of mental toughness and self-belief in this definitive guide to mastering confidence, the key to performance in any field.
And you also don’t want to miss Dr. Anthony Randall’s latest book, Practicing Excellence: Restoring Civility, Faith & Trusted Leadership in the Public Square, a compelling exploration of the challenges facing contemporary society and the need to pursue a life of practicing excellence as trusted leaders of character.
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