How to Cite a TED Talk

You’ve found the perfect TED talk to support your argument. The speaker is brilliant, the ideas are sharp, and you have a killer quote ready to go. But then you pause. How do you actually cite this thing? Citing a TED talk isn’t just about avoiding plagiarism; it’s about leading your reader to the source of inspiration, giving credit to the thinkers who shape modern conversations. It’s a fundamental piece of academic work. This guide will show you exactly how to cite a TED talk correctly, no matter which citation style you’re using.

Why Proper Citation for a TED Talk Matters

TED’s motto is “ideas worth spreading.” When you cite a TED talk, you participate in that mission. You build a bridge for your reader, pointing them toward a valuable resource and acknowledging the intellectual labor of the speaker. Think of it as leaving a clear, well-lit path for others to follow. It’s your way of saying, “This idea is powerful, and you should hear it from the source.” This act of referencing strengthens your own work, showing you’ve engaged with current, compelling ideas from experts in their fields. It’s more than a rule, it’s a practice of scholarly respect. Neglecting to cite properly muddies the waters, making it difficult for others to find the source and, in academic settings, can lead to serious consequences.

The Core Elements of a TED Talk Citation

Before you can build the citation, you need the right materials. Regardless of the citation style, you’ll generally need to hunt down the same key pieces of information for any TED talk you plan to cite.

Pro Tip: Keep a separate document open while you research to copy and paste this information. It saves a ton of time later.

• The Speaker: The full name of the person who delivered the talk.
• The Talk Title: The full, exact title of the video.
• The Publication Date: This is a tricky one. On the TED site, this is usually just a month and year. On YouTube, it’s a specific date the video was uploaded. Always use the date listed on the platform you are using.
• The Publisher: For a talk on the official site, this is almost always TED Conferences. For YouTube, the publisher is YouTube, but the channel name (e.g., TED, TEDx Talks) is also critical.
• The URL: The direct web address to the talk. Don’t use a shortened link; grab the full URL from your browser’s address bar.

How to Cite a TED Talk in MLA Style (9th Ed.)

The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is the standard for humanities disciplines. MLA focuses on the author and treats the TED platform as a container. A key difference from APA is that the talk title is in quotation marks and title case.

From the TED Website

For a TED talk in MLA style, you list the speaker, the title in quotes, the publisher (TED, italicized), the date, and the URL.

Robinson, Sir Ken. “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” TED, Feb. 2006, www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity.

The in-text citation (or parenthetical citation) in MLA is simple: just the speaker’s last name and the time range of the quote. You don’t need the year.

Parenthetical: (Robinson 04:31-04:45)

From YouTube

When citing the YouTube version, the format is similar, but you italicize YouTube as the title of the container, note who uploaded it, and use the specific upload date in day month year format.

Robinson, Sir Ken. “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” YouTube, uploaded by TED, 7 Jan. 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY.

The Modern Language Association provides excellent guidance on how to cite an online lecture or speech, which applies directly to citing TED talks.

How to Cite a TED Talk in Chicago Style (17th Ed.)

Chicago style offers two systems: Notes-Bibliography (common in history and arts) and Author-Date. We’ll focus on Notes-Bibliography, which uses footnotes or endnotes for citations.

From the TED Website

A full note in Chicago style is quite descriptive. It includes the speaker, title, where it was filmed, the date, the video length, and the URL.

Full Note: 1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Danger of a Single Story,” filmed July 2009 at TEDGlobal, video, 19:18, https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.

Bibliography Entry: Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” Filmed July 2009 at TEDGlobal. Video, 19:18. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.

For more on Chicago’s author-date system, check out their sample citations.

At-a-Glance: TED Website Citation Styles

Feeling a little dizzy from the details? Here’s a quick comparison table for referencing a talk from the main TED site.

Element	APA 7	MLA 9	Chicago 17 (Bibliography)
Speaker	Last Name, F. I.	Last Name, First Name	Last Name, First Name
Title Formatting	Italicized, sentence case	“In Quotation Marks, Title Case”	“In Quotation Marks, Title Case”
Publisher	TED Conferences	TED	Included in recording details
Date	(Year, Month)	Month Year	Filmed Month Year
Extra Info	[Video]	–	Video, length (e.g., 18:30)
URL	Full URL	Full URL (no https)	Full URL

Special Cases for Citing TED Talks

Sometimes you encounter a talk that doesn’t fit the standard mold. What about the independently organized TEDx talks? Or what if you want to cite the written transcript instead of the video? This is where knowing the logic behind citations becomes a superpower.

Citing TEDx Talks

TEDx talks are independent events. When citing them, the principle is the same but the details change. If you watch on YouTube, the channel is often “TEDx Talks” instead of just “TED.” This is a crucial distinction.

APA Example (YouTube):
TEDx Talks. (2018, September 23). The power of positivity | Juan Moore | TEDxUNG [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrsC4A3b_iI

Notice how the talk title on YouTube often includes the speaker and event name. Use the full title as presented on the video page. It’s a small detail, but an important one for accurate referencing.

Citing a TED Talk Transcript

This is a game-changer. Every TED talk on the TED website has an interactive transcript. If you quote directly from this text, you aren’t citing a video anymore. You are citing a web page. This means you don’t need a time stamp for your in-text citation! The format changes accordingly.

For this, you would follow the standard format for citing a website in your chosen style. In APA, for instance, you would omit the “[Video]” descriptor.

APA Transcript Example:
Brown, B. (2010, June). The power of vulnerability. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability/transcript

For your in-text citation, you could reference the paragraph number if available, or just the author and year if you’re summarizing an idea from the text.

Verbal and Presentation Citations

If you’re giving a speech and mention a TED talk, you don’t need to recite the full citation. But you should still give credit. A simple mention like, “In her talk on vulnerability, Brené Brown argues that…” is perfect. On a presentation slide, you can add a simple text box at the bottom with a shortened reference, such as: (Brown, TED, 2010). This points your audience in the right direction without cluttering your slide. It shows you respect the source material, right down to your own body language and delivery.

Tools to Help You Cite

Feeling overwhelmed? You don’t have to do it all by hand. There are tools designed to help with the heavy lifting of formatting. A good citation generator can be a lifesaver, quickly assembling the pieces into the correct format.

But, a word of caution. Always, always double check the output of a generator. They are powerful but not infallible. They might miss context, like the difference between a TED and a YouTube Ted talk, or misinterpret a title. Use them as a starting point, not a final answer. Your own brain is the best fact-checker. For a broader overview of citation principles, you can explore guides on citation in general or specifically for citing YouTube videos.