7 Lessons i learnt from TEDxSonaCollege

Lessons I learnt from TEDxSonaCollege that I would like to share with other TEDsters:
      1. Plan well in advance: If you have the idea of organizing a TEDx event, its better you plan the event months in advance. 4 months would be a good time. Make a plan of even the smallest details. Never leave anything for the end. Get things done as fast as possible. This will reduce a lot of confusion and tension as you approach the event day.

             2. Approach speakers early and have backup speakers: Make a list of speakers you think you can approach. Do this after finalizing the theme of your event. From the list first approach a set of speakers. Wait for their reply for a maximum of two weeks and then approach the remaining speakers if needed. It is always advisable to get a confirmation from speakers and also have a set of speakers whom you think will accept your request as back up. No matter how much confirmation you get, never rule out the possibility of speakers backing out at the last minute. Two of them ditched us at the last minute. Luckily we could cover up for one of them.
        3. Advertise and publicize your event from atleast 45 days before the event day: Many people are unaware of TED and TEDx. They think it’s similar to a normal college symposium. So advertise your event well. Put up posters at important places. Use newspaper as a medium for promoting your event. But if you are getting a lot of demand for tickets, then have a procedure of registration in place and sell tickets only to those who think deserve it. Make people aware of TEDx through your fb page, website, twitter etc. by posting amazing videos and providing more info.     
      4.  Have a good set of people as organizers and be a strong leader: Only include those people in the organizing team who you think will bring some value. Team selection is crucial. You don’t want a bunch of people who will promise things and not deliver. Be a strong leader. Be ready to get harsh if needed. Your priority should be to get the work done in time. So always a good idea to have a dedicated set of people.
         5.Approach sponsors well in advance: Once you are ready with a rough draft pf your event, start looking for sponsors. Its going to be really difficult to get sponsors keeping in mind the stringent rules of TEDx. So approach whoever you can. Explain about the event and their profit clearly. Even small amounts received can help you a great deal. If you have contacts, use them. That will be the best way of getting some funding. Also try to get in-kind sponsorship like food, hotel rooms, travel etc.
        6. Videography: Go and meet your videographer a few days prior to the event. Show him a few TED videos and explain to him how you want the video to be recorded. The last thing you want is your TEDx videos getting screwed. I just hope my event videos come out in proper quality. Fingers crossed!
        7. Hospitality: You are not paying your speakers here. So take good care of speakers’ needs. Make sure the hospitality is excellent. Provide them with good stay and travel. Also it would be really sweet to give them some gift or mementos after the event.

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The event that changed my life....

What is it that we feel when we achieve something that we dreamt of or really wished with all our heart? Is it a sense of achievement? Happiness? Or a feeling to show off and tell the people who were against you at some point of time to **** off? Or is it just calmness and peace? Well I have felt all these feelings at different points of time.  When a team that I support wins, I feel like showing off and shouting out to the world. Sometimes, its happiness which passes away very quickly.

But after the success of TEDxSonaCollege, of which I was the licensee and curator, all I felt was peace after a long time. This was an event I had put all my effort and time into. I had put my heart and soul into it. It was an event I dreamt of making successful. I wanted it to be the best event the college had seen. I wanted to provide a quality TEDx event. The event was successful in many ways. But it wasn’t joy or the feeling to jump in the air that I felt. But it was just content and calmness within that I felt. Difficult to explain the feeling. It’s true that God rewards hard work if you have put in your best and I can vouch that it’s true after the TEDx experience.
I had always been a big follower of TED talks. When I was in my second year in college, TED India was held at Mysore in 2009. I so badly wanted to attend it, but the membership fees was too high for a normal person’s pocket. Then came TEDxSalem which was conducted in college by my seniors, but I couldn’t attend it again. It was a small scale event but a successful one. This year a few final year students from my batch decided to apply for the license of TEDxSonaCollege. This was a group of perhaps the best students in my final year batch. We applied for the license in February in my name. The licensing process took a while and we had given up hopes of holding the event since our exams were in April. We finally got our license granted in April. Time was a big constraint for us. We had to do all preparations for the event between our exams. We held an organizers meeting and I realized that the zeal and enthusiasm that these people showed in the beginning was missing. But anyhow, I wasn’t letting this opportunity pass. I decided to go ahead with the event plans, come what may. Three people who made this event possible –Mr. Balachandar, our staff-co-ordinator; Maitri, an organizer and me ofcourse. We literally planned the whole event and did 80% of the work.  Got to thank the other organizers for the remaining 20%.

Then our final exams started and people got busy. Assigned work was not getting completed on time. I realized that I did not want to get into the good books of people or be sweet. I had to be a little harsh and rude. So I did become and people started hating me. My only goal was holding a quality event with quality speakers. We contacted a few potential speakers and in a few days got replies from them. My excitement had no bounds when we got a confirmation from all the speakers we contacted for the event. The first hurdle was crossed.
Then came the big headache of garnering money for the event from sponsors. Getting sponsors in a small city like Salem where people are not so aware of TEDx was a challenge in itself. But in the end we were able to collect more money than expected through sponsorship. Thanks to Maitri again. I realized how important it was to have contacts.
We made arrangements for the speakers’ travel and accommodation. We ordered mementoes for the speakers. We wanted to make sure the speakers loved our event and felt happy for being there. TED auditions at Bangalore came up a few days before the event. We met organizers of other TEDx events in India. This turned out to be crucial. We were able to get help from some of these people and we also got a couple of people who were interested in being a part of our event.
Preparations were in full flow and my sleepless nights continued. The amount of stress and anticipation I had during this time was unparalleled. I could not devote my full concentration to my exams and as a result my exams did not go the way they should have. But that did not bother me much. All I wanted was the event to be a landmark in the history of the college. And it did.
In the week leading to the event, we had new problems cropping up everyday. Two speakers cancelled their availability at the last minute, gifts for the attendees would reach only on the morning of the event, the stage and venue was in a mess and tickets were not getting sold. In spite of all this we were able to overcome these hurdles.
The event went out smoothly. Audience was happy. Speakers were happy. Management was happy. What more could I have asked for? Sure things could have been better. But this was a success to be cherished. I could finally sleep peacefully at night. Thank GOD!!!