Confessions of an accidental killer

For the past few months, I’ve been helping one of my very favorite clients, Gregg Ward, on his TEDx talk. When we landed on the title Confessions of an Accidental Killer, we both kinda paused. Was it too much? Too edgy? Would people freak out?

We went back and forth. But ultimately... we just couldn’t not use it. It was bold. It was intriguing. And we loved it.

And guess what? The talk’s been live for less than 24 hours and already has thousands of views. For context: the average TEDx talk gets around 400. So yeah—this one’s popping off.

I've seen this over and over: titles matter so much more than people think. Yes, of course, content is king. Delivery is crucial. But if your title doesn't make people click? None of that matters. No one will ever see how amazing your talk is if the title doesn’t hook them.

When I first started coaching TEDx speakers, I’ll be honest—I treated the title as an afterthought. It was all about the talk, the message, the big idea. But now I know better. That thinking? Pretty dumb.

Titles. Matter. A LOT.

Your title, the thumbnail image (that tiny lil' JPEG), and the length (under 10 minutes, please) are often the only things people see when they’re scrolling. That’s your first impression. Your shot to get them to care. So you better make it count.

When Gregg and I were workshopping his talk, we worried this one might be a little too risky. But here’s the thing: unless you’re already famous, there’s no such thing as "too risky" when it comes to TEDx titles. (Okay, maybe don’t be racist or drop f-bombs. But otherwise? Go bold.)

And yes, Gregg absolutely nailed the talk too—his content and delivery are both top-notch. You can watch the whole thing right here. Bonus tip: TEDx now lets you add a little subhead over the image—his says “Can regret be a force for good?” which is also 💯.

Bottom line: don’t sleep on the title. It might just be the difference between 400 views… and 14,000 (and counting).