TEDxNormal

TEDxNormal TEDxNormal is dedicated to enriching the community with big ideas from local & national changemakers.

🎭 "Evil is Dead."Adam Ruble closed out TEDxNormal 2026 on April 11th with a provocation: the labels "good" and "bad" obs...
05/28/2026

🎭 "Evil is Dead."

Adam Ruble closed out TEDxNormal 2026 on April 11th with a provocation: the labels "good" and "bad" obscure more than they reveal. In a community shaped by two universities and countless storytellers, Adam invited us to see the complexity in every person we meet — including the ones we'd rather write off.

🎥 Adam's talk is one of NINE you'll want to revisit. And there are years of past talks waiting for you, too.

🔍 Explore every speaker, watch past talks, and discover what's next

👉 https://tedxnormal.net

Photographs produced by:
Charles Green Photography
https://www.instagram.com/crg_mojo/
https://charles-green.smugmug.com/

💼 "Everything I learned about tech business started over a lap dance."Yes, you read that right. Jaime Konzelman's TEDxNo...
05/25/2026

💼 "Everything I learned about tech business started over a lap dance."

Yes, you read that right. Jaime Konzelman's TEDxNormal talk on April 11th was a masterclass in psychological safety — the not-so-secret ingredient behind every high-performing team. Her thesis: we can't build safety for others while leading from fear and image management ourselves. Especially true for women in leadership.

📬 Want more ideas like this delivered to your inbox?

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🌱 Success isn't earned at the start. It isn't earned at the finish. It's earned in the messy middle.Julie Navickas broug...
05/21/2026

🌱 Success isn't earned at the start. It isn't earned at the finish. It's earned in the messy middle.

Julie Navickas brought the entire TEDxNormal audience right into that messy middle on April 11th — the unglamorous stretch of every worthwhile journey. Bloomington-Normal knows it well: students reinventing themselves, founders pivoting, Fortune 500 teams transforming. We live there.

🙌 The TEDxNormal team lives in the messy middle year-round building this event — and we'd love your help.

🤝 Volunteer for TEDxNormal 2027

👉 https://tedxnormal.net/about-us/contact/

Photographs produced by:
Charles Green Photography
https://www.instagram.com/crg_mojo/
https://charles-green.smugmug.com/

🥩 The algorithm thought he was an influencer. Then 120 pounds of steak rub showed up at his Chicago balcony.That's how J...
05/18/2026

🥩 The algorithm thought he was an influencer. Then 120 pounds of steak rub showed up at his Chicago balcony.

That's how JD Miller, PhD opened his TEDxNormal talk on April 11th — "Reclaiming our Humanity in the Age of the Algorithm." Drawing on network theory and one very absurd Amazon mishap, Dr. Miller asked a question we should all be sitting with: what happens when we outsource judgment to machines optimized for speed over truth?

📺 His full talk drops on the TEDxNormal YouTube channel soon.

🔔 Subscribe now so you don't miss it 👉 https://www.youtube.com/

🌽 What if "Midwest values" are quietly making us sick?Shane Lukas asked that uncomfortable question from the TEDxNormal ...
05/14/2026

🌽 What if "Midwest values" are quietly making us sick?

Shane Lukas asked that uncomfortable question from the TEDxNormal stage on April 11th. From "be nice" to "don't make a fuss," the values that built our communities can also box us in when they collide with the lives we actually want to live. Shane's talk was an invitation to examine — not abandon — the values we inherited.

📲 Don't miss future talks, behind-the-scenes moments, or speaker announcements.

➡️ Follow us right here on Facebook

👉 https://www.facebook.com/tedxnormal/

Photographs produced by:
Charles Green Photography
https://www.instagram.com/crg_mojo/
https://charles-green.smugmug.com/

💡 Want change in your life? Stop looking outside yourself.That was the heart of Nicole Cramer's TEDxNormal talk on April...
05/11/2026

💡 Want change in your life? Stop looking outside yourself.

That was the heart of Nicole Cramer's TEDxNormal talk on April 11th — "Embracing Your Inner Salesperson." Most of us were taught to avoid the word "sales" like a telemarketer at dinner. Nicole flipped the script: the skills of a great salesperson are the same skills that move our lives, our careers, and our communities forward.

👇 Know someone who's been waiting for permission to advocate for themselves?
Tag them in the comments. This is the message they need today.

⚠️ By 2030, 1.2 billion women will be in menopause. Only 4% are getting proper care.Esther Blum took the TEDxNormal stag...
05/07/2026

⚠️ By 2030, 1.2 billion women will be in menopause. Only 4% are getting proper care.

Esther Blum took the TEDxNormal stage on April 11th and said what far too few are willing to say: "Antidepressants, Wine, and Birth Control Pills: The Prescription Pad of Misogyny." Her talk pulled back the curtain on how women's health gets dismissed, medicated, or ignored — and what we should be doing instead.

📣 Conversations like this don't happen without partners who care.

🤝 Sponsor TEDxNormal 2027 and put your business behind ideas that move our community forward

👉 https://tedxnormal.net/sponsors/

Photographs produced by:
Charles Green Photography
https://www.instagram.com/crg_mojo/
https://charles-green.smugmug.com/

♻️ "Why waste?"Elliot Notrica took the TEDxNormal stage on April 11th to show how fermentation — the same science behind...
05/04/2026

♻️ "Why waste?"
Elliot Notrica took the TEDxNormal stage on April 11th to show how fermentation — the same science behind sourdough and yogurt — could reshape the future of food. With iFAB, UIUC, and ADM putting central Illinois at the heart of precision
bioprocessing, Elliot's idea isn't just compelling. It's already happening here.

🧠 Got a big idea of your own brewing? The world is ready to hear it.

📝 Speaker submissions for TEDxNormal 2027 are coming in September and October of this year.

Photographs produced by:
Charles Green Photography
https://www.instagram.com/crg_mojo/
https://charles-green.smugmug.com/

🫀 "The only metric that matters is one heartbeat."That's the message Shrima Karthik delivered from the TEDxNormal stage ...
04/27/2026

🫀 "The only metric that matters is one heartbeat."

That's the message Shrima Karthik delivered from the TEDxNormal stage on April 11th. In a community that celebrates productivity and quietly normalizes burnout, Shrima made a powerful case for treating life — not just work — as the metric that matters most.

If her words moved you, imagine what next year's lineup will do.

🎟️ Lock in your seat for TEDxNormal 2027 — be the first to grab early-bird tickets when they drop. Visit 👉 https://tedxnormal.net

04/19/2026

Although the TEDx Normal event was last week, we’re still feeling the energy carry into this week. The atmosphere at Heartland Community College and the overwhelming support from our community continue to linger in the air.

Our speakers brought months of hard work, passion, and vulnerability to the stage on that red dot—it was truly powerful to witness.

Thank you again to our community, friends, and family who showed up, supported, and believed in the mission of “ideas worth sharing.”

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