TED Talk Citation in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard
Style rules checked October 23, 2026 · Next check by January 21, 2027 · AI-assisted source and citation checks; not human review
The short answer: To cite this TED Talk in APA 7, list the speaker on TED website, date as specific as supplied, talk title, video description, TED Conferences and talk URL, in that order. Every citation below comes from a real citation engine, in APA Style 7th edition, MLA Handbook 9th edition, Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (notes and bibliography) and Cite Them Right 12th edition (author-date/Harvard).
Examples in every style
Real TED website talk: Amy Cuddy
TED's own page identifies Amy Cuddy, the talk title and June 2012. The citation demonstrates source metadata, not endorsement of the talk's scientific claims; TED displays a reproducibility debate notice.
| Style | Form | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| APA | Reference list entry | Cuddy, A. (2012, June). Your body language may shape who you are [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are |
| APA | In text | (Cuddy, 2012) |
| APA | In text, narrative | Cuddy (2012) |
| MLA | Reference list entry | Cuddy, Amy. “Your body language may shape who you are.” TED, TED Conferences, June 2012, www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are. |
| MLA | In text | (Cuddy) |
| MLA | In text, narrative | Cuddy |
| Chicago | Bibliography entry | Cuddy, Amy. “Your body language may shape who you are.” TED, TED Conferences, June 2012. https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are. |
| Chicago | First note | Amy Cuddy, “Your body language may shape who you are,” TED, TED Conferences, June 2012, https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are. |
| Chicago | Short note | Cuddy, “Your body language may shape who you are.” |
| Harvard | Reference list entry | Cuddy, A. (2012) Your body language may shape who you are, TED. TED Conferences. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are. |
| Harvard | In text | (Cuddy, 2012) |
| Harvard | In text, narrative | Cuddy (2012) |
Real TED website talk: Vaitea Cowan
TED identifies Vaitea Cowan, TED 2022 and April 2022; Chicago's current quick guide uses the same talk. No day is invented for a page that gives only month and year.
| Style | Form | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| APA | Reference list entry | Cowan, V. (2022, April). How green hydrogen could end the fossil fuel era [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/vaitea_cowan_how_green_hydrogen_could_end_the_fossil_fuel_era |
| APA | In text | (Cowan, 2022) |
| APA | In text, narrative | Cowan (2022) |
| MLA | Reference list entry | Cowan, Vaitea. “How green hydrogen could end the fossil fuel era.” TED, TED Conferences, Apr. 2022, www.ted.com/talks/vaitea_cowan_how_green_hydrogen_could_end_the_fossil_fuel_era. |
| MLA | In text | (Cowan) |
| MLA | In text, narrative | Cowan |
| Chicago | Bibliography entry | Cowan, Vaitea. “How green hydrogen could end the fossil fuel era.” TED, TED Conferences, April 2022. https://www.ted.com/talks/vaitea_cowan_how_green_hydrogen_could_end_the_fossil_fuel_era. |
| Chicago | First note | Vaitea Cowan, “How green hydrogen could end the fossil fuel era,” TED, TED Conferences, April 2022, https://www.ted.com/talks/vaitea_cowan_how_green_hydrogen_could_end_the_fossil_fuel_era. |
| Chicago | Short note | Cowan, “How green hydrogen could end the fossil fuel era.” |
| Harvard | Reference list entry | Cowan, V. (2022) How green hydrogen could end the fossil fuel era, TED. TED Conferences. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/vaitea_cowan_how_green_hydrogen_could_end_the_fossil_fuel_era. |
| Harvard | In text | (Cowan, 2022) |
| Harvard | In text, narrative | Cowan (2022) |
How the styles differ for this source
| Style | Order of elements | What is different | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| APA Style 7th edition | speaker on TED website, then date as specific as supplied, then talk title, then video description, then TED Conferences, then talk URL | APA changes the author choice when a TED Talk is watched on TED's own website rather than on a YouTube account. | Style guide |
| MLA Handbook 9th edition | speaker or relevant creator, then talk title, then TED container, then date, then URL | MLA's core-element approach keeps the talk separate from the website containing it. | Style guide |
| Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (notes and bibliography) | speaker, then talk title, then TED event and location when supplied, then event date, then video duration, then URL | Chicago's eighteenth-edition quick guide includes a TED Talk example with event, month and year. | Style guide |
| Cite Them Right 12th edition (author-date/Harvard) | creator, then year, then video title, then upload date if supplied, then URL, then access date | Harvard is rendered with pinned Cite Them Right 12th; RGU's public online-video guidance is a named institutional reference, not a universal Harvard rule. | Style guide |
Edge cases
- You watched the talk on TED.com. APA uses the speaker as the author for a talk on TED's own website. Keep the specific talk URL, not TED's home page. Style guide. Applies to APA Style 7th edition.
- You watched a TED upload on YouTube. APA lists the owner of the YouTube account as the author for that version. Mention the speaker in your prose when it helps identify who actually spoke. Style guide. Applies to APA Style 7th edition.
- Only a month and year are supplied. Preserve that precision; APA's TED example explicitly uses month and year where a full date is unavailable. Style guide. Applies to APA Style 7th edition.
- The talk page carries a correction or research caveat. A citation is not a factual endorsement. Read any correction notice before using the talk as evidence; the Cuddy page explicitly identifies a reproducibility debate. Style guide. Applies to APA Style 7th edition, MLA Handbook 9th edition, Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (notes and bibliography), Cite Them Right 12th edition (author-date/Harvard).
Common mistakes
Using the YouTube account rule for the TED website copy
APA distinguishes these versions. Start from the page you actually watched.
Not this: TED automatically used as author for a TED.com speaker page
Do this (APA Style 7th edition, reference list entry): Cuddy, A. (2012, June). Your body language may shape who you are [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are
Adding an invented day to a month-only date
Greater precision is not more accurate if the source does not supply it.
Not this: April 1 invented for an April 2022 event
Do this (MLA Handbook 9th edition, reference list entry): Cowan, Vaitea. “How green hydrogen could end the fossil fuel era.” TED, TED Conferences, Apr. 2022, www.ted.com/talks/vaitea_cowan_how_green_hydrogen_could_end_the_fossil_fuel_era.
Treating a correctly formatted talk citation as proof of its claim
The metadata identifies the source, not the reliability of the research inside it.
Not this: A citation presented as verification of the talk's scientific result
Do this (Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (notes and bibliography), reference list entry): Cuddy, Amy. “Your body language may shape who you are.” TED, TED Conferences, June 2012. https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are.
Check before you cite
- Record whether the copy is on TED.com or a separate platform.
- Verify the speaker, exact title and available event or upload date.
- Keep event date and upload date distinct where they differ.
- Record a timestamp for a quoted passage from the watched version.
- Read any correction or update notice on the official talk page.
Is this the right source type?
Open the version you actually watched before deciding who belongs in the author field. A TED.com page identifies the speaker directly, while APA's example for a TED upload on YouTube identifies the account owner instead. That distinction matters even when the video itself looks identical. Write down the talk title, the most precise date actually supplied and the URL for that version; do not invent a day to make a month-only event date resemble a full upload date. Both worked examples here come from TED's own pages, so readers can inspect the same named speakers and talks. Vaitea Cowan's page supplies April 2022, and the citation keeps that precision. Amy Cuddy's page also provides a useful reminder about source evaluation: TED displays a notice about debate over robustness and reproducibility. Correctly formatting a reference does not resolve that debate or validate a claim quoted from the talk. If your argument depends on a scientific finding rather than on what the speaker said, open and evaluate the underlying research as well. Keep a timestamp for the passage you quote.
Frequently asked questions
APA's official TED guidance uses the speaker as the author for the TED website version.
Not necessarily. For the YouTube version, APA identifies the owner of the uploading account and allows the speaker to be identified in the prose.
No. APA's TED example explicitly preserves month-and-year precision when that is all the source supplies.
A citation engine renders every citation here from the style files of our free generator. Nothing is typed by hand. Found a mistake? Report a correction.
More examples are listed in the how to cite hub.
Students often ask about this too, so we wrote how to cite properly in three styles.
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