A few weeks back I was in the speaker line up of Ignite Dallas. What a great time. We had topics from the myths of being a red head to the a prisoner entrepreneur program (fascinating). I spoke on how individuals and organizations can find their Plan BE.
If you are not already familiar with the Ignite Concept--speakers have five minutes to speak with slides and their slides automatically change on their own. So, you have to be ready. The concept is brilliant. In the same way that Twitter demands you tell your story in 140 characters, Ignite asks you to enlighten the audience but make it quick.
As a professional speaker and someone who trains others to do great presentations too this formula really benefited me in a new, fresh, innovative way. It forced me to practice one of my golden rules of speaking "Simplicity Rules"
What did I learn? Here are SEVEN things I took away from the experience
Loquacious NO! Simple YES!
Like everything in life there is often a wide chasm between knowing and doing. The actual PRACTICE of simplicity is challenging for everyone. Even Me. The Ignite concept forced me to whittle away, like a woodworker with a piece of wood, to the very essence of my message.
Slide Design is as important as your message
Your Slides are as important as your message. You may not like this but it is the reality of today's presentations. Audiences often want, expect and need a visual reference point for the presentation. People who can deliver beautiful, smart, clever and relevant slides can do this. Unfortunately, a lot of the slides that night were not as high quality as they could be. It takes a lot of practice to get to where you can create slides that deliver. (I will share my slides in my next post so come back and take a look)
Social Media Rules--even in presentations
I have noticed this year that I am watching events like the Superbowl, the Oscars, and other big events while following twitter online. With the right hashtag a conversation flows through the presentation. Ignite embraces social media, namely twitter, and one of the most fun aspects of the event was the twitterific stream of comments, feedback and insight about each speaker. I was so pleased to have people tweet "Tell your fear to suck it" was my favorite line of the night for example.
Be Prepared for the Technology to fail you--always
The first lecture I taught at UNT 1000 years ago--my power point would not open. My teaching assistant who was running the technology panicked but in that moment I made a decision that "that's that so let's just move forward". You MUST be prepared to speak even when your technology fails you. In the case of my Ignite presentation--my slide timing was off and several of my slides literally moved after less than 10 seconds. I could see it happening out of my peripheral vision but I never responded or reacted. A meltdown is not an option.
Ideas spread and move people when they are face to face with them
There is nothing more powerful than a presentation. If you grew up going to church like I did, and you had the opportunity to see an amazing preacher who could electrify an audience (versus the ones I grew up with who put me to sleep each week) you understand the power of presentation. I suspect that in 2011 if Martin Luther King wanted to reach an audience he would STILL use the presentation as his message vehicle.
Everyone has a story to share
My friend Jill asked me no less than 10 times "why would someone do this?" My answer to her (and you if you are wondering) is that people want to share their story.
Igniters are probably early adopters
The reason I really dig Ignite is because I suspect the audience consists of early adopters when it comes to ideas, products, social media, technology, books, events etc. I love early adopters and try to surround myself with them because they make me smarter.
My goal is to be in a constant state of learning and my Ignite experience was a perfect fit for this philosophy. I learned a lot and now I am a little bit smarter. Hooray!
In my next blog post I will share my interview with smart guy Mike Merrill who started Ignite Dallas as well as my slides and presentation from Ignite.
Enjoy your weekend!
2 comments:
As a fellow speaker it was hard to make cuts to keep the content in the window of time that was slated. It was even harder to find appropriate slides. Great post and great job at Ignite. :)
You were great too. I had an amazing time. Great proof that you are never too "expert" to learn something new huh?
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