And so Ignite Waterloo V is in the bag.

But this time it’s different. After attending every Ignite since it’s inception I’ve been privy to some incredible speakers who prove there are no uninteresting topics as long as they are presented with passion. Maybe a certain talk isn’t exactly up your alley but who doesn’t have 5 minutes to invest? So I finally accepted this region’s rite of passage, stepped out from behind the scenes, and presented at Ignite.

So what did I learn?

This Ignite is infectious. That 5 minutes burns bright and hard. It’s like presentation crack. A tiny taste that leaves you wanting more. Talk to any of our past speakers and they’ll tell you what an incredible experience it was. Not that you’re aware of it at the time. From the moment you grab the mic it’s like you’ve stepped into a portal that shoots you out the other side of the 5 minutes. Next thing you know you’re stumbling back to your seat, somewhat dazed, slowly becoming aware of all the endorphins rushing through your system.

Deep breath, dive right in.

The beauty of the short format is that it doesn’t allow you to dwell on your mistakes. You can’t obsess over flubbing the intro, an awkward transition between slides, a slip up midway through. Frankly the slides don’t care if you mess up as they implacably move ahead every 15 seconds. And so it prevents you from sabotaging yourself and silences that internal critic that is screaming “You’re fucking it up!”

And so I tried to forget about the slides, didn’t worry if I was speaking exactly to what was onscreen behind me. I didn’t want to wait for a specific slide to make a point and just talked right through. I’ve seen too many speakers speak in fits and starts waiting for a transition or trying to play catch up. To that I kept the images broad and simple.

I wanted it irreverent and light. I can’t take myself too seriously and wouldn’t expect anyone else to either. Besides, I’m talking about tequila here. People were half expecting to see some sweet Pee-Wee Herman dance moves and trust me, no one needs to see that.

Dancing or no, it was fun regardless. I’d do it again in a heartbeat and we’re seriously considering an underground, small venue, free-form, Ignite roulette for past speakers where everyone does a slide deck — which someone else has to speak to.

You need to do Ignite!

In the meantime you need to come speak at Ignite! Everyone has got a five minute talk in them. You couldn’t ask for a more receptive audience so lose the inhibitions. If your passion is paperclip sculptures we need to know about it!  Fill out the speaker application form and do yourself a favour and actually attend the speaker workshop. The collaboration and insight that comes out of these sessions is invaluable and your attendance is a great indicator that you’re serious about talking, making it likely you’ll be selected to present. I can’t wait to hear the next batch of speakers for Ignite Waterloo VI!

Recap

Once again the Twitterati were in full effect for last night’s event. Trending at about #3 in Canada we even managed to attract our first Ignite troll and a fair share of spambots. For a great blow by blow just check out the #ignitewaterloo hashtag on Twitter. @DarinTheGreat has a great photo essay of the evening’s festivities up on his site and our evening’s co-host Erica offers up a few insights as well.