Creative
Lab
TEDxSanDiego Edition
A limited VIP add-on experience for TEDxSanDiego attendees who want to go behind the ideas, debrief the talks, and create a story-driven idea of their own.
Go beyond attending the event. Step inside the world of ideas.
TEDx events are built around powerful ideas, unforgettable stories, and the kind of talks people keep thinking about long after they leave the room.
TEDxSanDiego brings together a community of people who care about ideas, creativity, innovation, and what is possible when people gather in a room to think bigger together.
Creative Lab: TEDxSanDiego Edition is a limited VIP add-on experience designed for people who want to go deeper. It gives you an insider-style view into big ideas, great storytelling, and the creative choices that make a talk unforgettable.
Across 3 days, you’ll experience TEDxSanDiego through a more creative, intentional, and interactive lens. You’ll explore what makes great ideas land, debrief the talks with a guided group, and develop a short story-driven idea of your own.
Don’t just watch the talks. Work with the ideas.
Creative Lab wraps around TEDxSanDiego so the event becomes more than something you attend. It becomes something you process, talk through, and turn into creative momentum of your own.
Part 1
Creative Kickoff
We begin with a creative activation at Balboa Park, one of San Diego’s most iconic creative spaces. You’ll connect with the group, think like a TED-style storyteller, and start shaping an idea of your own.
Part 2
TEDxSanDiego Experience
Attend TEDxSanDiego with a creative lens. You’ll watch for story choices, idea structure, emotional moments, and what makes a talk stay with you.
Part 3
Guided Talk Debrief
After the event, we unpack what landed, what surprised us, and what each talk can teach us about ideas, story, delivery, and audience connection.
Part 4
Storytelling Adventure
We take the work to Sunset Cliffs for creative prompts, reflection, and guided storytelling exercises that help you shape your own mini-talk using Cathey’s Idea Map™ in one of San Diego’s most iconic places.
3 days. 1 creative arc.
Final times will be shared with registered participants. The experience is designed to wrap around TEDxSanDiego, with Balboa Park as the creative activation setting and Sunset Cliffs as the storytelling adventure setting.
Aug 26
Creative Kickoff
A guided creative activation at Balboa Park to connect the group, explore TED-style idea development, and begin shaping your own story-driven idea.
Aug 27
Attend TEDxSanDiego With a Creative Lens
We attend TEDxSanDiego as part of the shared experience and use the talks as the creative spark for the debrief and storytelling work that follows.
Aug 28
Guided Debrief + Storytelling Adventure
We come together to unpack the talks and explore what made the ideas land, then take the work to Sunset Cliffs for a guided storytelling adventure and a mini-talk using Cathey’s Idea Map™.
The Storytelling Adventure Experience™
The best ideas need room to breathe. That is why Creative Lab does not end in a conference room.
We’ll take the work to Sunset Cliffs through a guided storytelling adventure that uses place, movement, conversation, and creative prompts to help you find the idea underneath the idea.
At the end, each participant will share a short mini-talk using Cathey’s Idea Map™. Not a formal speech. Not a performance. A clear, human, story-driven idea you can build from.
For people who want more than inspiration.
Creative Lab is for people who want to experience TEDxSanDiego more deeply and leave with something they can actually use.
- You love TED Talks and want to understand what makes them work.
- You have an idea, story, message, or lived experience you want to explore.
- You want to become a stronger communicator in a creative, non-boring way.
- You enjoy experiences that blend learning, connection, and adventure.
- You want to turn inspiration into action.
Meet the coach behind Creative Lab
Cathey Armillas
TED / Speaker Coach & Founder, Speaker Skills Academy
Cathey Armillas is a speaker coach, storytelling strategist, author, and founder of Speaker Skills Academy. She has coached many TEDx speakers, executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders on how to turn ideas into talks that people remember.
Her work blends storytelling, audience psychology, idea development, delivery coaching, and active practice. She created Creative Lab for people who want to experience communication in a more alive, human, and creative way.
Meet CatheyA limited VIP add-on experience.
Creative Lab: TEDxSanDiego Edition is limited to 20 participants so the experience stays personal, interactive, and deeply connected.
Creative Lab: TEDxSanDiego Edition
$895
A 3-day VIP add-on experience built around TEDxSanDiego for people who want to experience the talks more deeply and create a story-driven idea of their own.
- Creative kickoff experience
- Attend TEDxSanDiego with a creative lens
- Guided post-event talk debrief
- Storytelling Adventure Experience™
- Mini-talk using Cathey’s Idea Map™
- Your own Word Up shirt
- 1 month free Gold membership to Speaker Skills Academy
- Small-group connection and creative prompts
Important Note
20 Spots
This experience is built around TEDxSanDiego and offered as a VIP add-on. We will attend TEDxSanDiego together as part of the shared creative experience.
- Designed for TEDxSanDiego attendees
- Small group format
- Final times and locations shared after registration
- Hosted by Cathey Armillas of Speaker Skills Academy
A few things to know
Is this a speaking workshop?
Not in the traditional sit-in-a-room-and-stare-at-slides way. Creative Lab is a live, in-person creative experience that blends TED-style idea development, guided debrief, story practice, and a storytelling adventure.
Do I need to have a talk already?
No. You only need curiosity, a love of ideas, and a willingness to explore. You may come in with a clear idea, a life experience, a message, or just the feeling that there is something you want to say.
Is TEDxSanDiego part of the experience?
Creative Lab: TEDxSanDiego Edition is offered as the VIP Creative Lab Experience add-on. Choose the VIP Creative Lab Experience when you purchase so you can attend TEDxSanDiego with the group and participate in the kickoff, guided debrief, and Storytelling Adventure Experience.
How many people can participate?
Creative Lab: TEDxSanDiego Edition is limited to 20 participants so the group stays small, connected, and interactive.
Who is hosting it?
The experience is hosted by Cathey Armillas, TED/Speaker Coach and founder of Speaker Skills Academy.
Leave with more than inspiration.
Go behind the ideas, debrief the talks, and create a story-driven idea of your own through Creative Lab: TEDxSanDiego Edition.