Women 50+: I stopped pitching my résumé. I started interviewing curators.
In 6 weeks I spoke with 20 curators. Here’s what they told me—straight:
• “Don’t sell a career. Sell a single, clear idea.”
• “If it reads like promo, it’s a no.”
• “Fresh angle + lived story > generic ‘leadership/resilience’ talk.”
So I built a method—Speaking from the Heart & How to Land Your First TEDx Talk™:
Curator Interviews → extract the real selection filters
One-Line Idea → sharpen the “idea worth spreading”
Proof of Fit → align to theme/program flow
Evidence-First Drafting → road-test lines live, then script
Conversion & PR → turn views into calls, clients, platforms
Results: 50 applications → 10 shortlists → 3 TEDx talks.
First “yes” first talk in 30 days.
Talks: Ubuntu (Wellington ’13, 107k views),
Ubuntu 2.0 (Oneonta ’20, 18k),
Living Ubuntu (Auckland ’21, 4k).
1,000 discovery calls → 100 clients.
Coaching now $3k group / $6k 1:1 / $15k Tribal Leadership; keynotes $5k–$35k.
Press: BBC Brazil, TVNZ, FOX, HuffPost; university appointments.
Proof for 50+: Marilise de Villiers Basson (UK) built her ROAR framework and delivered TEDx in 6 months.
Ubuntu isn’t theory—we rise by lifting others.
If you’re a woman 50+ ready to turn a lifetime of wisdom into a stage-ready idea:
Comment TED50 or book a discovery session