So, I have been asked to perform at a TEDx event in germany in November.
I will not be doing a motivational talk - I am specifically asked to perform a short mentalism set of 15 minutes between the talks.

The theme of the event is "Below the surface".

Obviously, this theme is a perfect fit for a lot of mentalism effects - after all, we are looking precisely at the things below the surface of human beings - their thoughts.
And I already have a few ideas on what kind of material to perform.

Nevertheless, I want to brainstorm a little with you people... do you have any ideas on material or stories that might fit the theme?
Any suggestions?



This will be a great opportunity for me to get good video footage, photos and other kinds of social proof, so I really want to do everything to make this gig successful.
So, if you have any advice on performing at these kind of events, please also let me know!

Greetings,
Alex

Congraulations!

Hi, Alexxander!
I'm nowhere near as experienced as you but I am a big fan of TED. From what I have seen of TED talks with mentalists and magicians, TED and audiences there love a performance structured around either a talk or demonstration. For example, a magician may talk about deception and how easy it is to deceive people. Or, they may talk about a past event or their life. Often, the effects are used to illustrate points. As you have been asked to perform between talks, the speech is obviously not the main focus but it way be worth planning something to talk about before planning the effects.
I don't know if you have realised this already and sorry for insulting your expertise is so!
RH

TED / TEDx seem to be more open these days to performance presentations that aren't necessarily motivational or educational. But I agree with Rory that the best performances hang on some kind of thematic point or message - and that is generally what the audiences at these events expect. I was asked to do a 'magic performance' at a TEDx event a couple of years ago. I struggled to find a good hook and ended up giving a talk about magic squares. I had intended to finish with a demonstration of instant magic square for any named total but time constraints forced me to drop that.

You can see my talk at http://www.mindmagician.org/vidtedx1.aspx

Mike

I haven't been in the game long enough to offer any worth while advice, but congratulations and good luck! And have fun!

TED/TEDx events are always interesting to watch, it'll be great to see you there - don't forget to remind us again in November though!

How did it go?

It was three years ago.

But thanks for asking! It went well.
However, I did not perform anything specifically taylored to the event, I simply did my best material and had fun.
That was absolutely the right decision at the time, as I was only actively performing on stage for one year at that point, haha.

Unfortunately, I did not get video footage from it.

It was definitely a very interesting experience which helped me grow.
But if I were to do something like this again, I would work on developing a more educational presentation.