I did an Ignite talk, and you should, too
Last night, I did something difficult: I stood up, in front of ~100*-ish people (author’s edit on 2/22/22: I have been told by organizers there were at least 240! people in the audience) — and a bunch silently watching on a livestream) — in one of my city’s most respectable venues, and, for a full five minutes — with no notes, and a relentlessly auto-advancing 20 slide presentation — and spoke on a topic that is really important to me…like intrinsic to my deepest, truest self (why “Gypsy” is a goddam racial slur and everyone who is not Romany needs to stop using it immediately).
I went third, bookended in either direction by a total of 9 other talks, all engaging, all vulnerable, and, by the end of the evening, I was absolutely exhausted and completely energized.
Last night, I did an Ignite talk. And I really think you should do one, too — especially if you don’t think you want to, and particularly if the idea terrifies you.
Ignite started in Seattle, so I know my audience definitely has a reputation for being superlatively enthusiastic and proud of being OG. But, seriously, while the (very loud for being smaller than usual) applause was nice (not gonna lie), the adrenaline and brief validation of strangers is not why I’m telling you to find your local event and submit a talk, posthaste.
