Michael Burns

Educator/Teacher, Event planner, Idea generator, Project manager, Single, World traveler

Personal: I am a proud Midwesterner who grew up in a small steel mill town in Ohio. My blue collar upbringing is an important part of my history and one I value. I studied communication at Ohio University as an undergraduate, earned an MA in communication from Texas State University, and completed my Ph.D. in communication from North Dakota State University. I love to travel, share beers with friends, and I have attended 90 weddings in 10 years. I love the Olympics and can nerd out over the Olympic Games for days. Professional: Dr. Michael Burns is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado Boulder. He also serves as the Director of TEDxCU. He is an award-winning instructor and group facilitator who teaches several courses that focus on persuasion, leadership, small group dynamics, team problem solving, sport communication, and training development. Dr. Burns is a champion of interdisciplinary research and the creator of CoSearch, an interdisciplinary research competition that has been used by universities around the globe. Dr. Burns' professional experiences outside of academia include working for NBC’s Today Show at the 2006 Torino, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, 2016 Rio de Janeiro, 2018 PyeongChang, 2020 Tokyo, 2022 Beijing, and Paris 2024 Olympic Games. While at the Today Show he works on the production management and logistics team. Dr. Burns also worked as a communication specialist for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Burns is an applied communication researcher and has published and presented research in the areas of persuasion, message development, higher education and the college transition, narrative influence, instructional communication, training and development, and family communication. Prior to his move to Colorado, Dr. Burns spent ten years as faculty at Texas State University, where he also led their TEDx program.

I am passionate about teaching college students how to problem solve.

Relationships are how we save the world.

Communication, Leadership, Media, Persuasion, Problem Solving, Relationships, Teaching, Team Work, Training

My TED story began in Fargo, ND where I helped my friend Greg Tehven prep for his first TEDx talk and then helped him plan the first TEDxFargo. In 2016 I delivered a talk at TEDxFargo about my interdisciplinary research program called CoSearch and that is the same year I started a university TEDx program at Texas State University. I was the license holder of TEDxTexasStateUniversity for seven years before moving to Boulder, CO for a new job as the faculty director of TEDxCU. I am now the license holder for TEDxCU and lead an amazing team of 30 undergraduate students.

People do not know I am great with babies.