Two heads are better than one, right? Wellllllll, maybe not on the TED stage.

The overwhelming majority of TED & TEDx Talks feature a single person, but two-person talks (duets) do exist. Per TED, “While we don’t have any rules that prohibit two speakers giving a talk together, we generally discourage it.”

In this article, I’ll explain why you should or shouldn’t speak with a partner,  what makes a duet successful, and how to choose between you & your partner if you decide instead to give a solo talk.

So let’s start here:

Why do you want to give a TEDx Talk together?

When I ask speakers this question, they almost always answer with a story about their relationship – you’re business partners, romantic partners, best friends, or colleagues.

Maybe you co-founded a company that uses algae to make environmentally-friendly ink. Your idea worth spreading is “Let’s make ink from renewable resources.”

You started the company together, you pitch to investors together, and you interrupt each other’s family trips to Hawaii with so-called “urgent” emails & phone calls (even though you’re really just jealous).

It makes sense to you that you’d give a TEDx Talk together. But will it make sense to the audience? 

99% of the time a single speaker is the best option for the audience.

Why you shouldn’t give a TEDx Talk together

It’s hard enough to hold their attention for 12 minutes by yourself. With two people, you risk losing the audience every single time you transition between speakers. It’s distracting. It takes the audience out of the narrative and makes them think about the talk’s construction. Like when you’re watching a movie and the boom mic dips into frame. “Oh, that’s right, I’m watching a movie.” The spell is broken. Inevitably, over the course of 12 minutes, they’ll begin to compare the two speakers. One speaker is noticeably better, and instead of focusing on your big idea, the audience fixates on that. And then they’ll think, “Why didn’t the good speaker just do this by themselves?”

So here’s my rule of thumb for TED & TEDx Duets:

If the only way to fully express your idea is through two different perspectives, then you should give a TEDx Talk with another person.

Most duets fall short because both speakers share the same singular experience or perspective. You could swap all their lines and it would barely matter. The second speaker is basically a duplicate of the first.

Consider the previous example. There’s nothing about the idea, “Let’s use renewable resources to make ink,” that requires two speakers. Either co-founder could give the talk. You don’t need both.

Why you should give a TEDx Talk together

The five talks below only work because there are two people on stage. Notice just how different the speakers’ perspectives are & how that impacts you as a viewer:

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How our friendship survives opposing politics – Caitlin Quattromani & Lauran Arledge

Caitlin is a conservative Trump voter & Lauran is a liberal Clinton voter. Here, they explain how they make their relationship work despite their fiercely opposing political views. This talk wouldn’t fully make sense to the audience if only one of them was on stage. You need both liberal & conservative perspectives.

Free yourself from your filter bubbles by Joan Blades & John Gable works for the same reasons.

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Our story of rape and reconciliation – Thordis Elva & Tom Stranger

This is certainly one of the most controversial TED Talks of all time. 

Thordis was raped by Tom as a teenager. Their TED Talk is about the process they went through, together, to grieve, heal, forgive, and reconcile. You need both perspectives – victim & perpetrator.

What comes after tragedy? Forgiveness by Azim Khamisa & Ples Felix is a similar example.

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A love letter to realism in a time of grief – Mark Pollock & Simone George

Good luck watching this TED Talk without collapsing into a puddle of tears! Unlike the previous four examples, Mark & Simone don’t have radically different perspectives, but having both perspectives makes their story whole. Mark is the subject; Simone is the witness. Mark is the head; Simone is the heart.

The story of a parent’s transition & a son’s redemption by Paula Stone Williams & Jonathan Williams is a similar example.

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Here’s what I want you to notice in each of those examples:

• Each speaker has a radically different experience. Could you swap Mark & Simone’s lines in the script above and still have it make sense? Absolutely not.
• The audience needs to hear both perspectives to understand the big idea. If Lauran gave a talk without Caitlin, it would feel so lopsided.
• Their delivery is respectful & balanced. Both speakers have an equal amount of content, their transitions are smooth as hell, and they attentively listen to the other person while they aren’t speaking. In other words, they don’t try to upstage each other.

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How to choose one speaker to give a TEDx Talk

After watching these examples, maybe you realized that you just need one person to present your big idea. But how do you choose? It’s like the Sophie’s Choice of public speaking!

Consider the following:

• What is each speaker’s professional experience? Which aligns more closely with the big idea? In the eco-friendly ink example, if one co-founder is a microbiologist and one is an entrepreneur, the microbiologist should do the TEDx Talk because the big idea is about the algae ink and not the business side of their partnership.
• Which person is a better public speaker? Is one person more confident & charismatic on stage? Be honest. It makes a huge difference in the reception of the live audience & the number of views it gets online.
• Which speaker has more time to devote to the talk? It takes a long time to prepare a TEDx Talk.

When you choose someone to give the talk, the other person might feel left out or diminished. It’s the responsibility of the speaker on stage to make the other person feel included. Don’t let this screw up your relationship! 

Work on the talk together and make sure both of your opinions are taken into account. Verbally acknowledge your partner during the talk so it’s clear to the audience that you deserve equal credit. Introduce your partner to other speakers & attendees at the reception or after party. Ask your TEDx Organizer to tag your partner in social media posts about your talk. The options are many.

Whether you’re giving a solo talk or a duet, it’s important to remember: 

Set aside your ego, and do what’s best for the audience – that’s the secret to public speaking success.