This page will be a one-stop shop benefit to our Ignite speakers providing valuable information about upcoming workshops, give you the link to the presentation template and allow for some friendly reminders in preperation for your talks.  Have fun and get fired up!

Deadlines

Fri Oct 7th - Talk submission deadline
Tues Oct. 11 -  Speakers will be notified if their talk submission has been accepted
Thurs Oct. 13 - Speaker workshop #1
Sat Oct 15 – Speaker workshop #2
Sun Oct 30th 8pm – Practice session #1
Tues Nov 1st 8pm (tentatively) – Practice session #2
Wed Nov 2nd - Speaker slide deck submission date
Mon Nov 7th – Rehersal and walk through at the venue
Wed Nov 9th - Event night!

Important: You must have your final presentation using the template provided above submitted to the Ignite team by Nov 2nd 2011

Workshops

For our new speakers unfamiliar with the Ignite event we will be holding some pre-talk workshop sessions in the coming weeks.  Your presentation does NOT have to be completed prior to attending!  These workshops are to help you create your slide presentation,  get to know the Ignite Sault team, and familiarize you with the very unique Ignite presentation format.  We will share our resources and know-how with you to ensure that you have all you need to produce a dynamic, 5-minute, 20-slide presentation!

Practice Session

We will be arranging a speaker practice session for all of our speakers as well sometime near the end of October.  Hopefully by this time you’ll have a good start on your presentation and this session will provide you an environment to practice your talk for the first time in front of a live audience! This will also give you an opportunity to receive valuable feedback and plenty of time to make changes if necessary.

We HIGHLY recommend you take this opportunity to attend this practice. In the past this session has proven to be very beneficial to all of our speakers even those well seasoned to public speaking.

More information about this practice session and the location/times will be released shortly.

Presentation Template

Here is a link to the template you should use for your presentation. This template is mandatory and everyone speaking will use the same template. Once you have the template downloaded use it to create your Ignite presentation.

Audio Presentation Aide

It can be difficult to practice your talk in front of the computer all of the time.  It is also a challenge to understand just how many words you can use during each slide.  Here is an audio file (.mp3) that you can download to help you with your preparation.  It contains audio cues every 15 seconds to allow you to practice your delivery and to perfect your timing anywhere!  To download, just right click on the link below and then select “Save As” or “Save link as”  This will prompt you to save the file to your computer where you can transfer it to your ipod.

>>Ignite audio practice template

Remember

  • Your presentation is only 5 minutes long
  • Your presentation can only have 20 slides, no more, no less
  • You are not allowed to have any animation on your slides (no movies, sounds, gifs, etc..)
  • Your slides will will auto-advance every 15 seconds (we can help you set this up)
  • You need permission to use visuals in your slides. This is really important because your presentation will be published online, plus it’s the right thing to do. Your slide template will have a place at the bottom for the url of each image. Some places you can find pics:
    • http://compfight.com is a great tool for searching Flickr. Be sure to have Creative Commons set to Only.
    • A large repository of images either in the public domain or with a Creative Commons license are available in the WikiMedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org). The source and permissions of each image is listed there separately.
    • High-quality royalty-free images can also be purchased from sources like istockphoto.com.

Some tips for an effective presentation

  • 5 minutes is not a lot of time. Plan to make a few key points. Be inspiring, but brief.
  • Before spending a lot of time preparing slides, work out what you want to say then work the slides to support them.
  • Practice several times. 15 seconds goes by fast. I’ve tried this format and while it was an adrenaline rush, it really helped to find the proper pace and amount to say for each slide beforehand.
  • Avoid death by Powerpoint. No one can read much in 15 seconds. Use visuals and at most some minimal text on your slides. Seasoned presenters like Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki suggest no more than 6 words on a slide.
  • Remember that people are coming out to both have fun and be inspired / informed. Try to mix a little of both in your presentation. Entertainment makes a message go down easier.
  • Take a look at some Ignite presentations to get a feel for them. There are some posted at Ignite Sault and at the main Ignite site.

Good luck from the entire Ignite team!

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.