Ignite UK North

Along with 100 or so others, I attended the first O'Reilly Ignite UK North last Thursday, 22nd January.

The format of Ignite is different to any other event I have attended. Anyone can make a presentation but they must follow some strict rules. Each presentation must be delivered in exactly 5 minutes and supporting slide-shows are limited to twenty slides that automatically move on every 15 seconds.

This extreme rigidity is totally unforgiving on the presenter but really entertaining for the audience. I didn't volunteer this time, mostly because I was worried about being too verbose to cope with the format, so I'm in awe of all those that did stand up and present, the standard was really high - the bar has been set.

The night was organised by Craig Smith of O'Reilly and Imran Ali of Carbon Imagineering, a big undertaking so thanks to them.

Rather than giving you a run down of the night (for that check out the O'Reilly GMT website) I thought I'd jot down what I learnt about using Powerpoint the Ignite-way...

  • Don't be a slave to the slides - because the slides move on automatically it's easy to think that precise timing of the talk is essential. I have to face the fact that I am unlikely to become one of those impressive presenters with perfect timing, matching the talk with the slides is really, really difficult. Rather than becoming obsessed with timing, I think it better to aim for an approximate level of synchronization and concentrate on a smooth coherent delivery of my topic.
  • Be adaptable - When I present, the nerves make me speak a little lot faster and I tend to stumble in places. The unforgiving nature of the transitioning slides means I will need to correct myself in order to run under or over time. Those who did well last week were able to correct themselves and fill time where needed.
  • Tell a story - I really enjoyed the presentations that had a beginning, middle and end.
  • Avoid discussion - there just isn't time for audience participation, invite questions during the open networking that follows the presentations or post-event.
  • Lose the notes - I normally have a lot of notes to keep me on track but that means that I stop to double check where I am. There's no time for that at Ignite. The best speakers tended to be without notes.
  • Keep it fairly light-hearted - complex subject matter is fine but imparting your message to an audience of diverse backgrounds within five minutes is a big challenge!

I loved the rapid fire format of presentations and the huge range of subjects covered, from 'How social media is being used in mental health', to 'Machine learning'. I also loved the fact there were presentations I didn't understand because that reflects the diversity in the Leeds new media scene and the diversity of the Ignite audience.

I'm already starting to think about possible topics for a presentation at the next Ignite so any suggestions would be gratefully received. Hopefully I'll be able to test out my Powerpoint theory then!

You may also be interested to read some other blog posts written by attendees: