# Slides & A/V ## First Considerations Slides, videos, performances, live music, tech demos... the list goes on! These are wonderful complements to your talk if you want to illustrate a point. However, these complements *should never become supplements* for your talk. There have been hundreds of TED Talks done without any slide deck. Consider whether the audience gains anything from having one... or if it just distracts from your idea. {% hint style="warning" %} Slides, videos, etc. are never to help *you.* You should be able to present without these aids. It's to help *the audience.* Keep this in mind as you make your talk. {% endhint %} *** ## PowerPoint Slides ### Requirements * Follow our [design-brilliant-slides](https://speaker.tedxiu.com/slides-and-a-v/design-brilliant-slides "mention") guidelines. * **Use PowerPoint or Keynote.** * DO NOT use online services such as Google Slides, Canva, or Prezi. * If you use Linux, you may save LibreOffice files in .pptx format or use [PowerPoint Online](https://powerpoint.cloud.microsoft/) or [Keynote on iCloud.com](https://www.icloud.com/keynote/). * Use a black slide background whenever possible. ### Download Template {% file src="" %} ### Considerations Again, slides are **entirely optional!** Lots of TED Talks happen without them. If you do decide to build slides, it's important to remember that: **your talk and idea are centre stage**. While building the slides, continually ask yourself: * Will this *help the audience*? If not, don't include it. * Will this be distracting? Will it detract from your speaking? * What *actually* do I want to emphasise here? Does my slide support that? If something **isn't necessary, don't include it.** A blank slide is as powerful as a slide with content. Think about **how you'll click through your slides** as you talk. {% hint style="info" %} Our team will **provide comments** on your initial slide drafts and **make edits** to your final version for clarity, brand identity, compliance, and legal reasons. {% endhint %} *** ## Video Video content can be amazingly captivating! If you're interested in including a video in your TEDx talk, let us know. If you have a slide deck, feel free to embed it there. Either way, be sure to **send us the video file** as a backup. Note that video should be used to support and demonstrate what you're speaking about, rather than *replacing* you as a speaker. If the video is explaining a concept instead of you, it's likely not a good fit for your talk. However, a short video to illustrate an example can really help the audience visualise your point. *** ## Live Music, Performance, or Visual Art Audience members love when performers include a live experience on stage! Whether that be a musical performance, dance number, or a live painting session, we'd love to support whatever creative juices you have flowing. Please let us know **at least 1 month before the conference** that you'd like to include this in your talk. This way, our Technical Production team has time to have everything ready for you! {% embed url="" %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://speaker.tedxiu.com/slides-and-a-v.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.