Ignite Raleigh 2

I spoke to 701 people about The Anti-Social Media Wednesday night at Ignite Raleigh and none of them wanted to kill me afterward.

My nerdy little mind is blown.

I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to speak to such a diverse and thoughtful crowd of human beings. I’m lucky to be in a community where not only can I share my ideas, but I am supported by a wide variety of friends and people from all different backgrounds. Mostly, I’m flattered that you all, the voting internet public, chose me to speak to them about how to use social media bit better, and get a few laughs.  You can watch the madness here.  I jump in around the 18:00 minute mark.

These are my slides.  I drew each one by hand, then scanned them all.  I’m old school that way. I really couldn’t make them look decent using MS Paint, or any other decent image editor. I hope to include more artwork of this nature into The Anti-Social Media, if only because the visuals lead to a great jumping off point for me, and it’s easy to draw stick figures.

My tips, to those of you who wish to speak at Ignite Raleigh 3, or any other Ignite Event.

  1. Energy. The best presenters all had insane amounts of energy. You have to hold the attention of several hundred people who have all had a drink for 5 minutes.  By keeping your energy high and focused on your topic, you captivate the audience.  You don’t need to be bouncing off the walls.  One presentation I loved about Triangle Modernist Houses by George Smart had George sitting the entire presentation, However, his passion, knowledge, and focus pulled the audience in.
  2. Interesting Slides. Again, you have to hold the attention of the drunken crowd.  Use captivating images.  The stranger they are, the more memorable they will be.  The audience wants to hear you, but they also come to see what visuals you can show them.
  3. Practice.  It can’t be said enough.  Practicing will enable you to nail your timing.  You need to know your content, and you need to time it with the slides otherwise you will go to fast or slow and you’ll kill your presentation.
  4. Have fun.  If you’re having fun, the audience will have fun with you.  Enjoy the moment, it may never come again.

Thank you’s go to the team at #OurHastag, who put together this awesome event.  Another thank you goes to Zach Ward, the host and person to give me the most awkward and amazing hug I’ve ever received, RIGHT BEFORE I WENT ONSTAGE.  I have also have to thank my fellow presenters, who each inspired me in one way or another, whether through their interactions, both online and off, or their prestations, and all of my friends who pushed me and believed that I could not only publish this website, but also make a damn good presentation all while trying to maintain a normal work/life balance.

I promise to stop being sappy tomorrow, and go back to making fun of the internet.  There’s still a lot of social media to tear apart, and we all better be laughing while we do it.