How to get on stage: What curators are really looking for

Speaker opportunities are the gold standard of PR. Almost every comms department has them on their wish list for 2027, and almost every one fails at the same hurdle: the big stages cannot be bought.

On 03/12/2026 at 11:00 am we will be speaking in our "Ask an Expert" webinar series with Linus Stieldorf, Licensee of TEDxMitte. His team receives hundreds of applications every year for a stage with no paid slots. Most fail in the first few seconds because they sound like a sales pitch. Linus explains how the selection process works and why the question "Why you?" is the deciding factor for every application.

On the other side, we have Maximilian Ziche, CEO & Co-Founder of getpress, who was on the TEDxMitte stage himself in 2025 and knows exactly what happens in between.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• How curators decide who gets a slot and why corporate enquiries fail.
• How to reach curators and what your initial message needs to include.
• What happens between acceptance and the actual talk, and what the talk does for your PR afterwards.

You can help shape the session: submit your questions when you register. We will answer the most common questions in an open live Q&A at the end.