5 YEARS OF TEDX IN ROYAL TUNRIDGE WELLS - TEDxRoyal Tunbridge Wells

6 TEDx EVENTS. 90 SPEAKERS. OVER 4.3 MILLION VIEWS.

Since launching TEDxRoyal Tunbridge Wells in 2015, we’ve put on five terrific TEDx events. Our wonderful speakers come from near and far and have inspired audience members with their thought-provoking talks. But TEDxRoyal Tunbridge Wells talks travel much further than Kent, and with over 3.5 million digital views, people from all over the world have watched and shared our talks.

Each of our five events has successfully brought together enthusiastic speakers, big-thinkers, innovative brands, and engaged audience members in the spirit of ideas worth spreading. If there’s a specific event you’d like to catch up on, please click below. If not, keep scrolling and explore all our previous TEDxRoyal Tunbridge Wells talks.

PAST TALKS – TEDXROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS

TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWells

2025

The sounds I recorded on a 5000 mile bike trip

Paul Cheese Records Sounds in Trinity Clocktower to Mark the Return of TEDxRoyal Tunbridge Wells

Paul Cheese

Why Purpose Isn’t Enough (And What To Do About It)

In this talk, Sally Henderson outlines a simple method that will allow you to get going, keep up your efforts, and assist you in breaking down that massive milestone into smaller, achievable goals.

Sally Henderson

2020

Why Compassion Matters | Dr Julian Abel

Why Compassion Matters | Dr Julian Abel Compassion is more than just something that is a nice afterthought. It is measurably transformative in improving our well being and health outcomes. Each of us has an incredible compassionate potential. Dr Julian Abel spent his clinical life as a palliative care specialist doctor. He has developed a […]

The Future is Biased | Christina Blacklaws

The Future is Biased | Christina Blacklaws Our world is designed for men and is, sadly, full of bias. If we’re not careful, we could hard wire all the bias that exists into our futures as computers can’t be trusted to make unbiased decisions. In this talk, Christina explains why. Christina is passionate about diversity […]

The Power of Drag | Cheddar Gorgeous

Rather than playful attempts to escape who we are, Drag and other forms of dressing up are ways of exploring our identities, connecting with others and embodying our stories.

The Transformative Power of Shared Experience | Peter Basham

The Transformative Power of Shared Experience | Peter Basham No matter how much entertainment or information is available online and on demand, there is a great power in coming together to have a shared live experience. Music by Simon Arrowsmith. Peter Basham is an actor/director & producer. He has appeared for the Royal Shakespeare Company […]

Planting the Planet – How Our Gardens Can Rescue Us | Marian Boswall

Planting the Planet – How Our Gardens Can Rescue Us | Marian Boswall How we treat our gardens is how we treat the earth, and as we are part of the earth’s ecosystem, of how we treat ourselves.In this inspiring and hope filled talk Marian describes what our gardens can do for us, and what […]

How Do You Stop Men Taking Their Own Lives? | Ben Akers

How Do You Stop Men Taking Their Own Lives? | Ben Akers Ben lost his childhood best friend Steve Yates to suicide. In his talk he describes how he wanted to find some good from something so bad. Creating a film, “Steve”, then taking it to the men who needed it the most and starting […]

What Becomes of The Broken Hearted: Rejuvenating Hearts | Georgina Ellison

What Becomes of The Broken Hearted: Rejuvenating Hearts | Georgina Ellison Can the heart regenerate new heart cells? Biomedical Scientist Georgina Ellison-Hughes, says that it can, but its regenerative ability declines with age and disease. She offers a personal touch to her journey of discovering the regenerative potential of the adult heart and describes the […]

The Surprising Truth About Desire Everyone Needs to Know | Dr Karen Gurney

The Surprising Truth About Desire Everyone Needs to Know | Dr Karen Gurney In a culture where monogamy is prized and long term passion is portrayed as the holy grail of relationships, we are surprisingly ill informed about what we should expect from our sexual desire. How does desire play out with the same person […]

Young People are Screwed. This is What We Need to Do. | Simon Lucey

Young People are Screwed. This is What We Need to Do. | Simon Lucey The media has told you that young people spend too much money, complain too much and lack resilience. In this data driven talk, Simon Lucey argues that these media narratives have had a more sinister effect than first meets the eye […]

Are You Offended Yet? | Archie Maddocks

Comedy, as a mechanic, relies on the art of surprise – something must surprise, or sometimes shock, in order to elicit laughter. In fact, it’s similarity to drama, which also relies on surprise to affect an audience, is only separated by tone. So why then do people get offended by jokes – by things that are not real?

2019

Every Child Deserves To Grow by John Mulford

Every Child Deserves To Grow | John Mulford Due to urbanisation, safety concerns and other factors, today’s children have less contact with nature than any generation before them. This comes with many consequences for both human health and conservation. Drawing from his experiences of school science, environmental work and gardening, year 11 student John explains […]

Why Working Out Isn’t Working Out by Darryl Edwards

Why Working Out Isn’t Working Out | Darryl Edwards For all its health benefits if exercise came in pill form, we would only be too eager to take our medicine. But is working-out as medicine too difficult a pill for the majority of us to swallow? By understanding that nature has hard-wired us to hate […]

How Grief Can Help Us Win When We Lose by Sophie Sabbage

How Grief Can Help Us Win When We Lose | Sophie Sabbage Living with ‘terminal’ cancer for over four years has transformed Sophie’s relationship with grief and loss. Her first book, The Cancer Whisperer, has been translated into twelve languages and her second book, Lifeshocks – And how to love them, is a Sunday Times […]

In Praise Of Everyday Words by Sarah Salway

In Praise Of Everyday Words | Sarah Salway Forget Sticks and Stones, it’s words that are powerful. As a writer and poet, Sarah’s material is the individual word: what each one tells us about our history, and also what we lose when we let certain ones – conker, holly, turnip – get taken out of […]

Challenge The Echo Chamber by Adam Greenwood

Challenge The Echo Chamber | Adam Greenwood Imagine a world where you truly believed that everybody agreed with you about everything. Imagine a world where people with different opinions to you on politics, religion, sport etc simply could not be seen or heard. With algorithms deciding who we see, meet and hear online, this is […]

The Invisible Victims Of Crime by Michelle Raymond

The Invisible Victims Of Crime | Michelle Raymond When a crime hits the headlines, a light is shone on the perpetrator, their victim, and sometimes even the surrounding community. The motivations of the criminal, the suffering of their accuser, the reactions of neighbours and community leaders: these all receive publicity ensuring the world knows their story. What […]

Rhythm & Blues by Rob Picazo

Rhythm & Blues | Rob Picazo Rob Picazo is a Rhythm & Blues singer and guitarist born in Madrid and based in the South East of England. He combines soulful vocals, relatable lyrics and bluesy melodies, all the while influenced by great Soul and Blues performers such as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Dan Penn. […]

3 Seconds And 2 Ears For 1 Name by Matthew Whitfield

3 Seconds And 2 Ears For 1 Name | Matthew Whitfield Why are our listening skills so poor? What would we wish for if we could really listen? Why are we all so bad at remembering names? What are the 3 things do you need to know to become a “name ninja”, and be that […]

An Idea Is Not Enough by Don Smith

An Idea Is Not Enough | Don Smith All of us come up with great ideas, but getting that idea off the ground takes a great deal of dedication and hard work. Don began a new career as an Inventor in 2016 after working for twenty-five years as an award winning Creative Director in advertising, […]

Fire & Water: The Value of Control Amid Chaos by Chris Williams & Max Thorpe

Fire & Water: The Value of Control Amid Chaos | Chris Williams & Max Thorpe What are the most important tools in the game of life? Max Thorpe and Chris Williams argue that grit – the ability to persevere through difficulty – and resilience – the ability to rise after you fall – are the […]

Turmoil To Peace In 9 Seconds by Sarah-Nada Arfa

Turmoil To Peace In 9 Seconds | Sarah-Nada Arfa Most of us have heard “take a deep breath” when faced with a challenging situation but, because breathing happens automatically, we rarely give breath the attention it deserves as a tool to calm our minds, heal our bodies and contribute to a more peaceful world. By […]

Why We’re Dependent On Plants For Medicine by Sophie Lamb & Naomi Murray

Why We’re Dependent On Plants For Medicine | Sophie Lamb & Naomi Murray From hedgerow to health, Sophie and Naomi’s childhood was punctuated by regular herb picking outings with their father and two other sisters in the Highlands of Scotland where the family lived. Through their talk, they will help us to view the landscape […]

Leishmaniasis: A Love Letter To A Flesh Eating Parasite by Pip Stewart

Leishmaniasis: A Love Letter To A Flesh Eating Parasite | Pip Stewart Journalist, poet and presenter Pip Stewart found herself in a relationship with a flesh-eating parasite, leishmaniasis, after a world-first, 2.5 month, paddling expedition through dense Amazon jungle. A firm believer that everyone, and everything, can teach you something, Pip advocates the power of […]

Culture Before Curriculum by Andrew Hammond

Culture Before Curriculum | Andrew Hammond Our children are more than the sum of their school grades. Behind every GCSE or SATs result lies a whole person with incalculable, untapped potential and myriad facets and capacities just waiting to be discovered. The only limits on our potential are the self-prophesying myths peddled in school about […]

This Is Us Inclusive Youth Dance by This Is Us Youth Dance Company

This Is Us Inclusive Youth Dance | This Is Us Youth Dance Company This Is Us Youth Dance Company are an inclusive company that have been based at Bishops Down Primary for almost three years. Their Inclusive class is open to anybody who loves or wants to dance and be creative and currently include dancers between […]

2017

The Other Side of Syria by Lara Khalaf

The Other Side Of Syria | Lara Khalaf Why is some people’s assumption of Syria so ingrained? should we be thinking more about Syrians? in this talk we celebrate the Syrian’s contribution to the world in the face of adversity. This intimate account by Lara Khalaf tells her story of arriving in the UK without […]

Starting to Improvise by Graham Mann

Starting To Improvise | Graham Mann Beginning with just one note and thinking of music as language, here’s a way of learning how to improvise and converse with your fellow musicians. Mistakes are allowed and even encouraged! Graham Mann, Musical Director of Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra talks about rhythm and improvisation and shares some big […]

What do You Think You’re Looking at? by Philip Clemo

What do You Think You’re Looking at? | Philip Clemo How would it feel if you no longer recognised your world? Could you learn to look in the way you listen to a piece of music? Philip Clemo challenges familiarity through the use of cutting-edge technology to explore the hidden mysteries of the world all […]

Using Family to Facilitate Discovery by Louis King-Cox & Adrian King-Cox

Using Family To Facilitate Discovery | Louis King-Cox & Adrian King-Cox Father and son Adrian and Louis King-Cox tell a story of discovery and friendship made possible through a strong familial bond. Exploring how this relationship forms and the benefits of such a dynamic. Father and son, son and father. They are growing up together, […]

The Fall and Rise of a Gambling Addict by Justyn Rees Larcombe

The Fall And Rise Of A Gambling Addict | Justyn Rees Larcombe This is a shocking story of how a free £5 bet led to a full blown addiction to online gambling. How someone who had it all could loose everything, including his job, his family and his home and then find hope and restoration. […]

This Talk Isn’t Very Good. Dancing With My Inner Critic by Steve Chapman

This Talk Isn’t Very Good. Dancing With My Inner Critic | Steve Chapman Steve Chapman shines a light on his inner critic – that whisper in his ear that constantly tells him he isn’t good enough and that he should never try anything new or risk making a fool of himself. Steve tells the story […]

Interior Design is About More Than Wallpaper and Bean Bags by Phoebe Oldrey

Interior Design is About More Than Wallpaper and Bean Bags | Phoebe Oldrey All too often Interior Design is feed to us as a frivolous art of cushions and seasonal trends but could there be a hidden power to make our lives better Physically, Emotionally and Visually? Interior Designer Phoebe Oldrey shares the power of […]

Angel of the Dump – a Story of Courageous Love by Jane Walker MBE

Angel of the Dump – a Story of Courageous Love | Jane Walker MBE Jane Walker MBE describes her incredible journey from a homeless teenager to a successful social entrepreneur. Jane founded PCF (p-c-f.org), providing life changing services for child workers and innovative livelihood projects that upskill the community and recycle waste into handmade products. […]

What Happens When You Take Someone at Face Value? by Henry Rose Lee

What Happens When You Take Someone at Face Value? | Henry Rose Lee Henry Rose Lee is an expert in being Faceblind. This has meant that her inability to recognise faces has given her powerful techniques to compensate, that non-faceblind people can develop too. To really get to the heart of someone’s communication, even when […]

Have You Ever Wondered What Butterflies Wings Sound Like? by Paul Cheese

Have You Ever Wondered What Butterflies Wings Sound Like? | Paul Cheese From the tops of mountains to deep under ground, discovering sounds and inspiration in unusual and unexpected locations to create music and audio photographs. Local sampler of sounds and maker of music. Following a childhood where he wasn’t allowed to leave the drive, […]

Discovering the Joy of Travelling for Business by Joaquim Bretcha

Discovering the Joy of Travelling for Business | Joaquim Bretcha Business meetings can turn into a cultural interchange. Why you shouldn’t stay in your hotel after a business trip in another town. The importance of language to reach the heart of your interlocutor. Joaquim, a professional from Barcelona that travels the world for business purposes, […]

Life Discovery by Dame Kelly Holmes

Life Discovery | Dame Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly admits to being obsessed and driven by success and is motivated in providing inspiration to others to achieve their own goals in life. Dame Kelly Holmes won two Gold Medals at Athens Olympics in 2004 for the 800m and 1500m cementing her place in history as the […]

The Importance of a Hug by Polly Taylor BEM

The Importance Of A Hug | Polly Taylor BEM Cancer certainly helped me discover how valuable life and time are and also taught me the importance of giving time to others. Giving time with love and hugs is very rewarding and healing to one’s own wellbeing. Founder and force behind the Pickering Cancer Centre. Polly […]

Getting Legless by Lance Corporal Cassidy Little

Getting Legless | Lance Corporal Cassidy Little Cassidy Little, former Royal Marine Commando, talks about his journey up to the present, in 3 chapters. Ballet, War and recovery. All this to discover his 5 key themes to guide anyone through life. A veteran and winner of The People’s Strictly Come Dancing. Cassidy will be talking […]

Queen of Dialysis Describes Her Dependence on a Machine by Maddy Warren

Queen of Dialysis Describes Her Dependence on a Machine | Maddy Warren Here she describes how she depends on a machine every day to survive.

How to be Remembered by Dana Denis-Smith

How To Be Remembered | Dana Denis-Smith To the question, ‘Who are you?’, you might be able to answer it in a few words. However, what about your children or perfect strangers in the future? How will they remember you? Help them remember the person you are by building your own biography proactively, now. If […]

2016

Defrost Your Potential by Nat Taylor

Defrost Your Potential | Nat Taylor A GP in the British Army, Nat is co-leading Exercise ICE MAIDEN, a phenomenal expedition of the first all-female attempt to cross the Antarctic land mass coast-to-coast, via the South Pole. Come to TEDxRTWWomen to find out more about the challenges and perils of planning and training for this […]

Are You Guilty of Not Having it All? by Alexandra Bond

Are You Guilty Of Not Having It All? | Alexandra Bond Have you heard of The Guilt Game? The one where you endlessly feel guilty about not doing enough, being enough, and achieving enough? The one where you compare yourself to others and feel like there’s more you need to be doing? The Guilt Game […]

Let’s Talk About SECS! by Lucy McLeod

Let’s Talk About SECS! | Lucy McLeod We live in a world that references sex endlessly. Whether we’re watching a television show, reading the newspaper, or clicking around the internet, we’re endlessly exposed to sexually charged imagery. Now in her mid-twenties, Lucy McLeod is especially aware of the prevalence of sexual imagery that surrounds us […]

My Approach to Education by Emily Raj

My Approach to Education | Emily Raj Education is something we all go through, this is Emily’s first hand experience of the difficulties she faced; from the 11+ to the decisions of Sixth Form. Emily is seventeen years old, grew up in Royal Tunbridge Wells in a middle class family with each grandparent from a […]

The Surprising Truth About Freedom by Natalie Sisson

The Surprising Truth About Freedom | Natalie Sisson In a day and age where we are more connected than ever, and the gap between the wealthy and poor is ever expanding, who really has the most personal freedom of all? And how do we actually define freedom and what it means? Natalie Sisson, founder of […]

Make Failure Your Friend if You Want to Succeed by Elise Pacquette

Make Failure Your Friend if You Want to Succeed | Elise Pacquette Elise Pacquette has done a great deal in her life. After growing up in Tunbridge Wells, she moved to London and has been living there for the past 19 years. In those years, she has been an artist/illustrator, stage manager, prop maker, art […]

Why I Want Men to Stand Up For the F Word by Jordan Jones

Why I Want Men To Stand Up For The F Word | Jordan Jones There are three things that TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWellsWomen speaker Jordan Jones wants you to know about him: 1. He was born at a time when there was still a green Power Ranger. (#80’sBaby!) 2. He has an unhealthy relationship to chocolate. (Which he’s […]

How Listening to My Gut Changed EVERYTHING by Rebecca Hirst

How Listening to My Gut Changed EVERYTHING | Rebecca Hirst We’re at our best when we feel our best, and nobody knows this better than TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWellsWomen speaker, Rebecca Hirst. Her journey from Coke-selling marketing executive to nutritional expert has radically and gloriously changed her life, and she’s now helping others change their lives and feel […]

3 Huge Problems with Care Homes, 1 Small Solution by Debbie Harris

3 Huge Problems With Care Homes, 1 Small Solution | Debbie Harris Debbie Harris is passionate about family and believes that spending time together as a family and taking care of the younger and older members in our family is enormously important. This is especially true as our greying population is growing and many of […]

Stepping Out from the Fickle Finger of Fate by Natasha Courtenay-Smith

Stepping Out from the Fickle Finger of Fate | Natasha Courtenay-Smith So many of us have so many talents, and can do and be so much. But we live in a world in which so many of us wait for opportunities to be gifted to us and keep our talents to ourselves. We pin our […]

Get Back to Nature for Good Mental Health by Caroline Arnold

Get Back to Nature for Good Mental Health | Caroline Arnold Caroline Arnold is a Tunbridge Wells local who runs a charity on a 500 acre Organic Dairy Farm at Bore Place, near Chiddingstone. She’s passionate about the environment, the countryside and the great outdoors and actively works with young people to educate them about […]

Why it Takes 25 Years to Become an Overnight Success by Diane Young

Why it Takes 25 Years to Become an Overnight Success | Diane Young Diane Young is a mathematician who co-founded The Drum, which is a magazine and website specializing in the marketing and media sector. It has grown from its roots in Glasgow to Europe’s best-read marketing news platform online.

The Art of Gentle Protest by Sarah Corbett

The Art Of Gentle Protest | Sarah Corbett We’re so pleased to introduce Sarah Corbett of Craftivist Collective! A little bit about her and why she’ll give a terrific TEDx talk: Sarah Corbett grew up in an activist family and has worked as a professional campaigner for 6 years, most recently with Oxfam. She started doing […]

I Try to Live My Life as a Thank You by Simon Harmer

I Try to Live My Life as a Thank You | Simon Harmer Simon explains why he lives his life as a Thank You. Simon draws upon experiences many of us could not imagine and delivers them with a rare humour. He received a standing ovation, and deservedly so. Simon Harmer was a medic in […]

The Power of Storytelling by Anna Wharton

The Power Of Storytelling | Anna Wharton In a world that can often feel dominated by male voices, it can be difficult for a woman to find her voice – and most importantly, be heard. Tunbridge Wells local, Anna Wharton, will be focussing on the power of storytelling at TEDxRoyalTunbridgeWellsWomen. By sharing her own story, she’ll […]

The Robots are Coming… Look Busy by Laura Thomson

The Robots Are Coming… Look Busy | Laura Thomson Laura Thomson loves robots! She has been developing and delivering culture change, communication and leadership programmes for organisations since 2000 and is passionate about helping people increase their confidence, impact and results in life through fun, practical talks and workshops. Alongside other clients, she have been […]

How Street Wisdom Changed My Life by Nick Hammond

How Street Wisdom Changed My Life | Nick Hammond Street Wisdom is a social enterprise with a mission to bring inspiration to every street on earth. Led by volunteer facilitators, free Street Wisdom workshops give participants the skills to see the urban environment in a new way, ask a question and use the answers they discover […]

Unconventional Career Advice by Christine Bailey

Unconventional Career Advice | Christine Bailey At school, Christine had a great lesson from a teacher who said “we won’t ask permission, we’ll beg forgiveness”. This motivated her to seek out famous mentors whose words inspired her. In this talk she shares how 5 famous quotes have shaped her career.

What Really Makes Someone a Hero? by Ringpullman

What Really Makes Someone a Hero? | Ringpullman If you’ve ever seen something in the media that makes you want to take action but it seems too far away, insurmountable or beyond your ability to help. Ringpullman shows how through creative nonconformity you can make a difference. If you cannot do great things, do small […]

Making Music for Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters by Graham Hadfield

Graham offers a rare glimpse into the working process of a film and TV composer, using language aimed at everyone, with stunning, revealing visuals and, in this instance, an orchestral score.

What it Takes to be a Migrant Entrepreneur by Rafael dos Santos

What it Takes to be a Migrant Entrepreneur | Rafael dos Santos Overcoming barriers such as language and integrating to the culture are the first steps but the endless battles with your inner voice to defeat you are part of every day life of a migrant. Rafael’s talk is powerful, moving and emotional. It shares […]

Climbing Mountains by Funke Abimbola

Climbing Mountains | Funke Abimbola Funke Abimbola is a multi award winning lawyer, leader and diversity campaigner. As the most senior black lawyer working within the UK’s pharmaceutical industry, her path to becoming a top lawyer has not been a smooth one. She bucked the family trend, choosing law over medicine and has been climbing […]

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats by Hanna Sorrell

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats | Hanna Sorrell Hanna Sorrell found herself in a position where she wanted to start her own networking group in Royal Tunbridge Wells. Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next. Hanna is the founder of Wells Angels Women’s Institute, a group of 100 of the finest women […]

What Would You Do if You Knew You Would Succeed? by Caner Veli

What Would You Do if You Knew You Would Succeed? | Caner Veli He tells us how he got there and finishes with a brilliant demonstration of his product. Liquiproof success Founder of award-winning product Liquiproof, Caner Veli has spent the last 2 years growing a successful business with the aim of filling a gap […]

A Radical Consensus by Danny Kruger

A Radical Consensus | Danny Kruger What matters to any of us? Our relationships. That’s what politics should be about: how to make families, communities, and economic relationships stronger and better. There is an emerging consensus across left and right that this is what is needed, and a set of ideas to make it happen […]

Saving Lives Through Social Media by Jaz O’Hara

Saving Lives Through Social Media | Jaz O’Hara Not to be underestimated as a tool for procrastination, Jaz O’Hara demonstrates the power of Facebook and Instagram (and other channels), not just through her own crazy story, but through several inspiring examples of the refugees she works with in camps across Europe and the Middle East […]

Royal Tunbridge Wells RFC to Twickenham – Hear Our Story by Alex Nicholson

Royal Tunbridge Wells RFC to Twickenham – Hear Our Story | Alex Nicholson An Amateur rugby club based in the heart of West Kent overlooking the Sussex countryside, hear our remarkable story in reaching our first Twickenham final in 85 years of existence. A club that came together to achieve results through hard work, dedication […]

2015

Practical Solutions to Make Life Easier by Geoff Meekums

Practical Solutions to Make Life Easier | Geoff Meekums

Don’t Ignore the Over 60s in the Workplace by Brian Kent

Don’t Ignore the Over 60s in the Workplace | Brian Kent Brian explains to us all why the over 60s have so much to offer.

How to Create a High Performance Culture by Andrew Sillitoe

How to Create a High Performance Culture | Andrew Sillitoe Business Psychologist Andrew Sillitoe explores why some people rise to the top 20% in their field starting with research into why young people stay engaged with sport throughout their teens. Engaging others to operate at their full potential may be less of a mystery than […]