Congratulations on being selected as a finalist for TEDx Princeton!

This form collects the final materials needed for our curatorial review.

Please complete every section carefully and complete the form by

11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, October 19th.

The form will close at that time.

This stage evaluates readiness, delivery, and alignment with TEDx standards. Your responses will help us determine final speaker selection and potential coaching allocation.

Please note, you are not yet a confirmed speaker.  We have selected 50 finalists and will have to limit our final speaker selection to 20 or less.

This form is LONG. We acknowledge and agree and apologize.

This is the next step in a selective process that moves strong ideas closer to the stage. The details you provide here help us understand your idea, your intent, and how your talk might fit within the flow of the event.

Before you begin, you’ll save time if you have these ready:

• Your 100-word bio

• Your headshot (link or upload)

• Your talk title (10 words or fewer)

• Your one-sentence summary

• Your 5–7-minute video link (Google Drive, YouTube Unlisted, or Vimeo)

• Your professional title and organization (for context, not promotion)

• Your time zone (for scheduling if you’re selected)

• A short reflection on what you want the audience to think or feel after your talk

  
  

You’ll also see a few thousand short acknowledgments confirming you understand how TEDx works—what the platform values, how Wave and Particle functions as a curatorial theme (not a creative assignment), and how the process unfolds from here.

Please do read through and take your time. Accuracy and thoughtfulness now make everything after this smoother—for us, and for you.

TEDx Princeton Finalist Information Addendum

(Stage Two: Required of all finalists)

Before you complete the acknowledgment form, please provide the following factual information for curation, communications, and publication purposes.

Section One- Finalist Information

Please indicate below if you acknowledge that:

• Coaching invitations are selective and based on both potential and readiness.

• Declining coaching does not automatically disqualify you; however, if your talk requires refinement and you decline coaching, you may not be selected to present at the event.

• Coaching participation, when assigned, is mandatory. Refusal to participate may result in removal from the program.

• Coaching is an investment by TEDx Princeton in talks with exceptional potential for resonance, precision, and reach.

Video Submission

This is not and should not be your final talk. We use it to evaluate how your idea stands in live delivery.

Please present your opening, central argument, and a cohesive thread toward conclusion.

Show how your talk will land — voice, energy, pacing, clarity.

Focus on idea, not production polish. No props or slides needed.

Section 2: Speaker Understanding & Intent

“Wave and Particle” defines our theme, not your talk.

Every TEDx must have an annual theme. Most choose broad titles (Beauty and Truth, Chaos and Order, Rising Together). We chose Wave and Particle because it operates on a deeper register, for use, and we wanted to focus the lens on how truth, identity, progress, and thought itself often hold contradictory forms at once.

The phrase evokes the paradox of light—two realities coexisting, both true, depending on perspective. That tension mirrors the human condition: scientific and emotional, individual and collective, data and story. It also mirrors the TEDx stage itself—where contrasting talks, placed side by side, reveal coherence through difference.

So, it matters to us that you understand that the theme guides the curation, not the speakers. It allows us, as the organizers, to weave a narrative across talks without forcing any single one to conform. The theme makes the whole event wave-and-particle, not each individual talk.

What Speakers Should Understand

• You do not need to reference the dual nature of anything in your talk.

• You do not need to mention light, physics, or paradox.

• The only requirement is that your idea reflects authenticity and complexity—real, layered thinking.

• Some talks may express the “wave” (connection, movement, empathy). Others may embody the “particle” (precision, structure, truth). Both are welcome and necessary.

 Understanding the TEDx Platform

TEDx talks are built on one principle: an idea worth spreading. A great talk distills one clear, original insight that others can use to see the world differently. It is not a performance and cannot be a pitch, or self-promotion. (We will bring that part up a few times.)

Tone and Audience

TEDx Princeton brings together a multidisciplinary audience—scientists, tradespeople, artists, educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, students. The most powerful talks speak to all of them at once: intellectually rigorous, emotionally grounded, linguistically simple. Your talk should engage both mind and emotion, using accessible, precise language.

Audience Impact

What will your audience walk away thinking, feeling, or wanting to do after hearing you? (Please write 2–3 sentences.)

Curatorial Collaboration

TEDx Princeton works with speakers to refine structure, pacing, and clarity so that every idea reaches its potential. This process is a partnership; edits are a sign of investment, not critique.

Theme Reflection for Program Materials

You are invited to write a short (3–5 sentence) reflection connecting your talk to Wave and Particle for inclusion in the printed or digital event program. THIS IS OPTIONAL.

This reflection is separate from your talk. It helps the audience—and you—see how your idea sits within the broader intellectual landscape of the event. When we assemble these reflections, they become the connective tissue between talks: the audience can sense relationships, contrasts, and common threads that make the day feel like one coherent experience rather than a sequence of individual talks.

Timeline and Deliverables Acknowledgment

Participation in TEDx Princeton requires meeting all rehearsal, submission, and technical deadlines. These ensure production quality and inclusion in the final program.

You agree to:

• submit all requested materials (slides, bios, headshots, and final scripts) by the deadlines provided by the organizers;

• attend at least one mandatory rehearsal (in person or virtual, as scheduled);

• make yourself available for technical checks and dress rehearsal during the final event week.

Failure to meet these deadlines may result in withdrawal from the event, regardless of prior selection status.

Please read each statement carefully and confirm your understanding.

Each section must be read and confirmed. These acknowledgments constitute your agreement to participate in the TEDx Princeton finalist process.

Failure to comply with these standards may

result in removal from consideration.

Section 3: Rules and Acknowledgments

1. No Endorsements

TEDx talks cannot promote or advertise companies, employers, products, or services. You may briefly mention your professional role once for context, but you may not present your talk as a case study or showcase of organizational success.

You may not display logos, URLs, or visuals that identify or market a company, product, or client.

Violations may result in removal from the program, withholding of your recording, or permanent takedown after publication.

2. Professional Relevance and Disclosures

You are encouraged to draw on your professional expertise and lived experience — this is what gives your idea credibility and impact. However, TEDx Princeton is a platform for ideas worth spreading, not for organizations or products.

You may identify your professional title or organization once for context at the start of your talk. Any further mention — verbal, visual, or implied — that highlights, promotes, or associates your idea with a specific company, employer, client, or product is prohibited. This includes all slides, examples, visuals, or phrasing that could be interpreted as marketing, endorsement, or recruitment.

If you have any financial, ownership, or contractual interest connected to your talk — including, but not limited to:

• current or past employment related to the subject,

• consulting fees or paid advisory roles,

• equity or stock options,

• royalties or intellectual property interests,

• sponsorships, grants, or funding,

• client or vendor relationships, or

• formal partnerships or advocacy affiliations

you must disclose them below.

Disclosure does not disqualify you; it ensures transparency and protects both you and TEDx Princeton.

If any part of your talk appears promotional during review or rehearsal, TEDx Princeton will work collaboratively with you to reframe or edit it so that the focus remains on your idea, not your affiliation. If reframing is not possible or declined, the talk may be withdrawn before or after recording or withheld from publication.

TEDx Princeton reserves full editorial rights to remove logos, adjust phrasing, or withhold the recording to maintain TEDx’s noncommercial standard.

3. Evidence-Based Content

All factual, scientific, medical, technological, or policy claims must be supported by credible, verifiable sources. Personal stories are welcome but must be truthfully represented.

If a talk is later determined to include misinformation, pseudoscience, or materially misleading statements, TEDx Princeton may withdraw it, withhold publication, or remove it from distribution at any time.

You must provide up to five supporting sources within five business days upon request.

4. Time Discipline

Your talk must remain under the assigned time limit (maximum 15 minutes). Talks that exceed the limit will be edited or removed from the final lineup. You agree to attend any timing rehearsals or pre-event checks required.

5. Nonpartisanship

   TEDx Princeton is a nonpartisan platform. You may discuss issues, systems, or ideas, but you may not advocate for or against political parties, candidates, or legislation

6. Respectful Content, Safety & Ethical Responsibility

All talks must maintain respect for the dignity, autonomy, and humanity of every individual and group. TEDx Princeton does not permit discriminatory, harassing, or demeaning language or imagery based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, nationality, or any other identity or lived experience.

If your talk includes sensitive material — such as trauma, violence, mental health, loss, or identity-based experiences — you must present it with care, accuracy, and purpose. Graphic or distressing descriptions must be essential to your idea, not sensational. Organizers may request edits or framing adjustments to protect audience well-being.

You may not disclose personal stories or identifiable details of others without their explicit consent. Composite or anonymized examples are preferred when referencing real individuals or private experiences.

You are responsible for ensuring that your visual and verbal materials respect privacy, consent, and cultural context.

TEDx Princeton reserves the right to edit, postpone, or remove any talk that:

• includes hate speech, harassment, or demeaning content,

• exploits trauma or perpetuates harm,

• endangers individual or public safety, or

• poses legal or reputational risk to TEDx Princeton or TED.

7. Intellectual Property & Use of Materials

You confirm that all visuals, music, video, quotes, and other materials used in your talk are original to you or properly licensed. You will provide proof of rights or attribution upon request.

You agree not to use copyrighted material without written permission.

You indemnify TEDx Princeton and its affiliates against any claims arising from intellectual property violations in your materials.

8. Media Rights, Editing & Publication Control

8. You grant TEDx Princeton, its successors, and TED Conferences LLC a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to record, edit, reproduce, distribute, and publicly display your talk, in full or in part, in any medium (including online streaming, broadcast, or print).

   You acknowledge that TEDx Princeton may:

   edit your talk for clarity, length, or compliance;

   choose not to publish; or remove it at any time after publication.

9. Likeness, Headshot, Bio & Marketing Use (Privacy & Publicity Rights)

9. You authorize TEDx Princeton and TED to use your name, likeness, voice, biography, headshot, talk title, summary, and short excerpts for event promotion and documentation. This includes websites, printed programs, social media, and press materials.Your likeness will never be used to endorse unrelated products or services. Use is limited to materials directly connected to TEDx Princeton or TED. You retain all moral rights to your original work but grant TEDx Princeton the right to adapt materials for formatting, layout, and design.

10. Accessibility & Clarity Standards

TEDx Princeton is committed to accessibility and comprehension for all audiences.

You agree to:

• submit slides or visuals at least 10 days prior to rehearsal for accessibility review,

• ensure text is high-contrast, minimal, and legible from distance,

• provide plain-language definitions for specialized terms, and

• accommodate closed-captioning requirements if requested.

  Organizers may request adjustments or replacement of materials that do not meet accessibility standards.

11. Material Changes & Fact Updates

If new facts, affiliations, or events arise that alter the accuracy, neutrality, or ownership of your talk content, you must notify TEDx Princeton within 72 hours

.Organizers may require you to update, clarify, or correct your talk prior to publication.

Failure to disclose relevant changes may result in withdrawal or post-publication takedown.

12. Finalist Video Authenticity & Integrity

Your required 5–7 minute video submission must be:

• a single, unedited take recorded by you;

• free of AI-generated visuals, voiceovers, or scripts;

• representative of your authentic delivery style.

  
  

  You may not use video or sound manipulation to alter appearance, performance, or perceived audience reaction.

  Videos determined to be inauthentic or heavily produced may disqualify the applicant.

13. Coaching Preference & Participation

TEDx Princeton provides limited coaching to help selected speakers refine their delivery and adapt to the TEDx format. Please select one:

If you opt in and are selected, participation in assigned coaching is mandatory. Refusal to participate may result in withdrawal from the event.

14. Curatorial Discretion & Selection Authority

Final speaker selection and program composition are determined solely by the TEDx Princeton curatorial team.

Meeting minimum standards or completing this packet does not guarantee inclusion.

TEDx Princeton reserves the right to edit, reschedule, or withdraw talks before or after recording, and to decline publication for any reason consistent with TEDx policies.

15. Code of Conduct & No Substitution

All participants must uphold the TEDx Code of Conduct and represent the event with professionalism. You agree to:

• engage respectfully with organizers, coaches, and other speakers;

• meet all submission and rehearsal deadlines;

• not delegate or substitute delivery of your talk to another individual; and

• maintain confidentiality regarding internal event planning materials.

  Violations may result in immediate removal from the program.