Speaking at Ignite Baltimore
We usually call for speakers about three months before each Ignite event. We ask you to submit a short proposal describing your idea. A panel of judges reviews each submissions in order to select 16 speakers. We announce those speakers about a month ahead of time.
Proposal Guidelines
We strive to select diverse topics and speakers. Our aim is to inform and entertain the audience. We emphatically do not want speakers to "sell from the stage"; if you would like to talk about your organization you must do so in the context of a larger talk about the problem your organization is solving or the opportunity it is attacking. If we suspect that you are going to sell from the stage you will probably not be selected.
There are no other restrictions on content. Please review past Ignite Baltimore talks to get a sense of what has been selected in the past.
Speaker Guidelines
- Please provide 20 slides. We will show the slides for 15 seconds before automatically advancing them.
- We do not allow animation. You may be able to incorporate music or short video elements if you coordinate with us far in advance.
- It's best not to be literal with your slides - imagery will be much more effective than text in this format, so try to have at most a few words per slide (no words = just fine, too).
- Do not include a slide with your name or presentation title; we provide that for you and this slide doesn't count towards your 20 slide limit.
- This format is very unique and you should plan to rehearse extensively, even if you are an experienced speaker.
- You can create your presentation in PowerPoint or Keynote. However, we'd like you to export your slideshow to a 1024x768 Adobe Acrobat PDF before sending it to us.
- Read more guidance from Preston Lee.