Back in March the call for speakers at this years Tedx event arrived in my inbox. It was immediately challenging as I had wanted to be involved with this forum for all of its previous 3 years.

So I decided to apply.

‘Idea’s worth spreading’ is the concept behind the world wide Ted talks and the more local version, Tedx Wellington, is no different. And this years theme was ‘Perspective’. The online graphic was fantastic.

I knew what I wanted to talk about and so filled in  the few words allowed in the application and sent it winging off into the ether.

The reply came quickly and I was excited to find that I’d been asked to discuss my ideas with a guy named DK . I didn’t know if everyone was interviewed but I felt heartened that I’d moved one more step along the process.

I checked DK out online and it seemed his outstanding preference was for passion. I had buckets full of passion for my topic so thought I’d enjoy the opportunity to talk about it, and that seemed a good sign.

The interview was just plain fun. I realised I was being steered but had plenty of room to be myself and tell my story. I explained my idea and filled in the background and where my passion was directed in the future.

It all made sense to me. DK was quietly encouraging throughout and I enjoyed his attention to detail as he took tiny notes on the bottom half of what looked like a moleskine notebook.

We parted on good terms but when I got back to my car I felt a sense of anticlimax – now all I could do was wait to hear from them. I was ready to go!

There’s a lot work in getting a Ted talk delivered, and it’s all voluntary. DK doesn’t get paid to do my interview or for the many other hours he puts in, and nor do all the others, or the speakers. That’s one of the things that makes Ted great.

I ended up holding my breath for almost two weeks before I was offered a place. All I could think was ‘WOW’.