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Q&A Meet Ben Pechey: The Host Who Believes Ideas Can Change Everything

What happens when passion meets purpose? You get Ben Pechey, the three-time TEDxTeesside host who’s made it their mission to create a space where ideas don’t just get shared, they get lived.

On 16th October, Ben returns to host TEDxTeesside for the third time, guiding audiences through a day of transformative talks that prove change isn’t some distant dream, it’s happening right here, right now, in our region.

You’ve written two books, given your own TEDx talk, and now you’re back hosting TEDxTeesside for the third time. What draws you to the power of storytelling and platforms like TEDx?

The TEDx stage is a career goal for so many people. However, one thing I say time and time again, is that whilst standing on that red circle is a big deal, it is the message that has gotten you there. TEDx is a platform that helps elevate voices who are already doing incredible things, making changes in communities, and who are the big thinkers we need to hear from. The power is the opportunity we all have to learn from our wonderful speakers, and being able to help amplify and guide that in the room is something I feel so privileged to do. Not being involved in TEDxTeesside would be very strange indeed!

Having given your own TEDx talk, what’s the most important thing you tell nervous speakers?

The one thing I tell nervous speakers is: whatever you say on stage will be perfect. They know what their message is, they live, breathe, sleep their message, so the pressure can feel immense, but for our speakers when it comes to the value they will bring, it is like any conversation they have. Yes the stakes are a little higher, and yes there are several cameras filming them, but at its core all a TEDx talk is, is an amplification of a message you are the most skilled to deliver. I also think nerves are a required element - it shows me you care - which in this arena is vital.

What’s the most incredible transformation you’ve witnessed in a speaker during the coaching process?

There is a moment with every speaker I work with, where the talk suddenly stops being words on a page, and becomes a living thing. This moment in coaching comes towards the end of the process, and it is when our speakers really feel the words they are saying, they become an extension of themselves, and the delivery of them becomes so much more than words.

What makes a great TEDx host? How do you create the right energy in the room?

My job, as host, is primarily to help keep an audience focused on what matters: our speakers. The host role is secondary to their brilliant work. The day is entirely about them, my job is to smoothly guide our audience through the transitions of the day, I need to create a space that contains multitudes without prompting emotional overload. I don’t know if I always succeed, sometimes the emotions of the day can get to me, cut to year one crying on stage, but overall I am just a safe pair of hands the audience can trust to facilitate the day in the best way possible. You’ll have to be in the audience to see if I succeed this year!

What happens in those speaker coaching sessions that the audience never sees?

The coaching sessions are where we work on the nerves, craft the message, gently pull talks open, before putting them back together, and at the heart of it all is the speaker’s ideas. I facilitate this as the coach, but the speaker (maybe unbeknownst to them) leads my approach. I can be a ruthless editor, a stickler for flow, and will always ask for clarity to be our chief motive. But, this is all done in the service of the speakers message, which is my central focus. I love coaching the speakers, it’s perhaps the best seat in the house, because I get to see the growth and the development. It’s an utter privilege.

What excites you most about amplifying voices from our region on a global platform?

What excites me most? That change is not some intangible white paper set for review in 2038. It is that change is in the room with us, and our audience can implement it the minute they leave their seats. The impact reports show more than mere ripples of change. The voices we are spotlighting are the centre of an empathetic movement. Change isn’t an expansive enough word for what we’re doing here!

If someone walks away from TEDxTeesside with just one thing, what would you want that to be?

I hope our audience (in the room and online) can see and feel that change isn’t a burden, it isn’t a challenge, and it isn’t impossible. Change is real, achievable, and is making a difference every single time you engage with it.

What are you most looking forward to about hosting TEDxTeesside 2025?

I love seeing our speakers on stage, the moment they have longed for, dreaded, worked for, and feared. I love seeing them see just how right it feels, how their message is real, and just how much value they can bring to the world just by standing on that red circle. It is such a powerful thing, and I look forward to it every year.

Ben Pechey will be hosting TEDxTeesside on 16th October at Digital Life, Teesside University.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by TEDxTeesside .