SIU PRSSA Southern Illinois University Public Relations Student Society of America
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This March SIU has hosted a collaborative event called TEDx. TEDx SIUC “is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.” TEDx is an independently organized event where individuals of the community or area come together to give talks on assorted topics to an audience. The importance of these events, Ted talks and TEDx, is that they bring awareness and other insight to the table that people often have not thought about before. This year, the university brought in seven speakers to give talks on assorted topics. This event was open to both students and the public.
The university used various advertising techniques to make campus students aware of the event. Additionally, the SIU’s website had pages dedicated to the event giving more and further information on the event and the speakers. From emails to flyers, the TEDx SIUC event is all over campus. From a PR standpoint, these talks are beneficial for the audience being able to learn and often allow for additional publicity for the speakers. Many people giving talks have done additional work or published books that the audience can check out after their talk.
Similarly, organizations can use events such as guest speakers or keynote lecturers to raise awareness on prominent issues and support their own personal brand or ideas. This type of organized speaker events or ‘symposiums’ are used to bring together individuals to learn more about select topics and interchange ideas. An article on Shapiro Negotiations website titled ‘Why TED Talks Are the Modern Gold Standard for Presentations’ discusses the importance and impact that TED talks make. “Sometimes, these videos challenge the audience’s viewpoints, using empathy and emotional influence to shed light on an important issue, and even change minds.” These events are an important part of networking and collaboration within a community over a specific topic and can help promote internal communication. When a speaker comes to present ideas on a particular topic, they also hold more credibility and can be a stronger influence than other sources. To conclude, the benefits of hosting a TED or TEDx conference as well as the benefits of watching the talks include increased brand awareness for the speakers and spark internal communication among the audience. The messages these talks have are valuable and impactful information to be shared with the audience.
