Author: Scott Berkun

Author and Speaker, known for fine books including The Myths of Innovation, Making things Happen, The Year Without Pants and Confessions of a Public Speaker.

We want challenging talk ideas

Here at Ignite Seattle we’ve built a finely tuned machine. Each event delivers on great talks, fascinating stories and a fun and welcoming community atmosphere. But one problem with finely tuned machines is this: they become predictable.

Over the years we’ve had some folks bring us bold ideas that challenge us. They push the limits of the 5 minute format or what can be done with an audience of 800 people. We’re always looking for more talks like this. Do you have something in mind? We want to hear from you. Submissions for the next Ignite are open.

Challenge us with:

  • New ways to use the 5 minute / 20 slide format
  • Topics or perspectives we’ve never had on stage before
  • Interesting ways to use the stage or the audience
  • Something we’ve never even considered

To seed your thoughts, here are some challenging examples from Ignite Seattle history:

Tag-Team: How To Have An Argument

Live music performance: How to Solve a Song

Getting the crowd to dance on stage: Where the hell is Matt?

A Wedding In 5 minutes: Wedding Planning for Geeks

An improv talk within a talk: Improv, Public Speaking and You

Slides that only keep time: Attention and Sex

One armed Juggling: The Juggling Act of Life

Live Burlesque: To Be A Great Leader

 

 

 

 

Ignite Seattle #31: Videos & Recap

Thanks to all of you who joined us last night for another sold out show at Town Hall Seattle. For our 10th anniversary we couldn’t ask for a more supportive, energetic and playful crowd. Our sincerest hope is that you keep coming to our shows, and help spread the word about what we do – we want to keep this forum for the exchange of ideas going for a long time.

Photos:

All of the videos from last night are now live (Thanks to Bootstrapper studios)! You can watch individual talks or the entire show in one video.  Please take a minute to share your favorites on all the interwebs.

  1.  Happiness through Calculus, Jordan Couch
  2. Guaranteed Successful Design, Noah Iliinsky
  3. Definitely Not Nordstrom: A Rally Call and Celebration of Awkwardness, Kristin Leong
  4. Not Everything Is A Collaboration, Eric Holdeman
  5. Appy Bride: How I Infuriated the Wedding Industry & Got My -Dream Wedding, Sarah Schacht
  6. Hello, My Friend. Madi Williamson
  7. Eat Your Ice Cream: How To Live Like You’re Dying, Robin Tarter
  8. Building Solid Teams with Silly Games, Shannon Mead
  9. After the Psych Ward, Jeffrey Hicks
  10. Our Brain’s Next Firmware Update, Laura Lantz
  11. Nope! Really! Africa is Not A Country. Kevin Obbayi
  12. The Irish Goodbye, Kelly Kanary
  13. So You Think You Can’t Dance, Sandi Olson
  14. Breaking Bread, Breaking Boundaries. Phillip Deng
  15. The Streets Where You Live, Amy Cash
  16. Great Things Never Came From Comfort Zones, Andrew McGee
  17. Ignite Seattle #31 – Entire show

 

 

Where to eat and drink before (and after) Ignite Seattle

[updated March 4th 2023]

Our current home for Ignite Seattle is the lovely Town Hall Seattle, located on First Hill, just across from I-5. It’s a curious little neighborhood that many Seattleites don’t know very well (it has so many hospitals nearby, it’s often jokingly called “pill hill”).

To help you get the most out of your Ignite experience, here’s a short guide for where to eat and drink before (or after) Ignite. Of course at the event there are always two cash only bars open, selling drinks and light snacks, but they can get crowded at times.

Upscale Dinner

  • Outlier– Just a 6 minute walk away at 4th avenue, near the library, this southern-style restaurant and bar has a great happy hour 4-8pm.
  • Cortina – An Ethan Stowe (famous local chef) Italian restaurant.  5 minute walk from Town Hall, and you can walk through the iconic Freeway park.
  • Capital Grille – Fancy steakhouse in a historic building, a good choice if you’re celebrating tonight.
  • Purple cafe and wine bar – good choice all around, with a spectacular 30-foot tower of wine behind the bar makes for a  memorable and dramatic experience.

Something simple or fast

  • A Pizza Mart – directly across the street from Town Hall, this reliable, straightforward pizza place with a full bar is the most convenient meal you’ll find. It does get busy and service can be slow so get there early if it’s your plan.
  • Pho  Saigon – Decent pho and Vietnamese fare.  3 blocks away.
  • Han’s deli – If you hope to just grab a candy bar or a bag of chips, this is just a block away.
  • 206 Burger Company – Good burgers a 4 minute walk from our venue.
  • Town Hall does sell some light snacks at the bar.

Bars and drinks

  • The Hideout – just three blocks away from Town Hall, this speakeasy style art bar has fine cocktails, simple snacks, and fantastic art (including an art vending machine). Open late, but it’s a small place and can get crowded at peak hours.
  • The Diller Room – a ten-minute walk from Town Hall, this historic,  colorful, divey pub has lots of character and charm. Their small food menu includes fresh pizzas from next door.
  • A short walk across I-5 lets you pick from various hotel bars (which tend to be expensive). Check out the Olympic bar at the Fairmont.
  • Sadly our favorite spot Quarter Lounge has closed. and Vitos is currently recovering from a catastrophic fire, but hopes to reopen soon.
  • Town Hall does sell beer, drinks and light snacks at the bar. Lines can get long so preshow if you want your fix early.

See you soon!

[updated March 4th 2023]

Speakers for 10th Anniversary Ignite Seattle (#31)

Our 31st Ignite event, and our OFFICIAL 10th ANNIVERSARY,  is Thursday, November 17th, 7pm/8pm at Town Hall Seattle. Tickets $5 at the door or in advance (we frequently sell out – buy tickets early. Or NOW. Really).

This will be a very special night (10 years is a long time – 496 Ignite talks, or 2400 minutes of people on stage speaking, to be exact). If you haven’t been to ignite in awhile, don’t miss this one.

Doors open at 7pm, with a cash bar and a fun (optional) social interactive game (you don’t have to play, and since there is a bar you can stand and drink and make fun of the people who do, but we suspect you’re more likely to play than you think).

Talks start at 8pm, with an nicely sized intermission halfway through for you to do various acts of biology and sociology, including getting more drinks.

We received more than 80 talk submissions – more than ever before. Many were excellent. But since we are restricted by the laws of physics we had to pick just 16 speakers for this event.

Here is the glorious list of amazing speakers:

  • Happiness through Calculus, Jordan Couch
  • Building Solid Teams with Silly Games, Shannon Mead
  • Nope! Really! Africa is Not A Country. Kevin Obbayi (alumni)
  • Hello, My Friend. Madi Williamson
  • After the Psych Ward, Jeffrey Hicks (alumni)
  • The Streets Where You Live, Amy Cash
  • So You Think You Can’t Dance, Sandi Olson
  • Great Things Never Came From Comfort Zones, Andrew McGee
  • Breaking Bread, Breaking Boundaries. Phillip Deng
  • The Irish Goodbye, Kelly Kanary
  • Our Brain’s Next Firmware Update, Laura Lantz
  • Not Everything Is A Collaboration, Eric Holdeman (alumni)
  • Eat Your Ice Cream: How To Live Like You’re Dying, Robin Tarter
  • Appy Bride: How I Infuriated the Wedding Industry & Got My Dream Wedding, Sarah Schacht (alumni)
  • Guaranteed Successful Design, Noah Iliinsky (alumni)
  • Definitely Not Nordstrom, Kristin Leong (alumni)
  • (Speaking order TBD so don’t presume this is it)

Looks like a great night, yes? Get your tickets here. 

Pitch us for Ignite Seattle #31 (10 year anniversary)

For many years we’ve been thrilling some of Seattle’s best crowds with great stories, lessons and entertainments told in a fun and inventive way. The next Ignite event is a special one: we are celebrating 10 years of these amazing events. If you have an idea for a talk now is the time to pitch it to us.

Deadline is Oct 7th, 2016.

Ignite Seattle 31 will be held Thursday, Nov 17th, at the beautiful Town Hall Seattle. But without your submissions, we’d just be waiting around, drinking sad drinks, wishing something interesting would happen. Don’t let us down!

Instead share with us and our audience a great story, interesting lesson or fascinating insight into life you think we should hear (like the ones you can watch from our last Ignite event to help you get ideas).

To help you invest your time wisely, read our honest insider guide to getting your talk accepted. We get many for Ignite and want you to learn from what we know.

Then SUBMIT YOUR TALK HERE. 

 

Eight Great Reasons To Come To Ignite Seattle #30

This Thursday (5/26) at 8:00pm is Ignite Seattle #30 – we’re thrilled to bring you another edition of the largest open submission public speaking event in the Northwest. We’ve sold out many shows in a row, as we consistently deliver a fun, challenging, fast paced evening of ideas, opinions and stories for your pleasure.

If you’ve never come before, or have missed a few, this is a great one to come check out.

Here are eight amazing reasons to come to Ignite 30:

  1. We are in Town Hall Seattle’s Great Hall, one of Seattle’s oldest and best venues for live events (and they have a cash bar that opens at 7pm)
  2. Erica McGillvray will teach you how to write a novel in a month.
  3. If you’re cranky and old (like me), you’ll get your biases confirmed (but also tested) in a talk about why the world hates millennials.
  4. If you are hip and young, you’ll laugh at learning about what if life were like stock photography, and how to live in the gig economy.
  5. Hang out with 800+ of Seattle’s coolest, most friendly audience members during our world famous intermission (we intermiss better than anyone anywhere). But the event usually sells out, so buy tickets in advance.
  6. If you like fruit and vegetables, and who doesn’t, you have bees to thank. Nicollette Neumann will tell you about fantastic bees and where to find them.
  7. Seattle has a homeless problem, yes? Learn about a new approach that might lead us to a cure.
  8. Islamophobia is sadly on the rise in America – Amanda Saab with share what it’s like to be your Muslim neighbor.
  9. It’s our 30th Ignite event, a number cleanly divisible by 6, 3, or 5! Go Math! We’re so excited we forgot how to count as this is reason #9 (which does NOT divide evenly into 30).
  10. We promise an evening free from the words: caucus, poll, superdelegate or Trump.

You will hate yourself if you don’t come. I mean, it’s Thursday night – shouldn’t you start your weekend of awesome a day early? We think you deserve it.

Go here to buy tickets ($5).  Doors open at 7:00pm (as does the cash bar). Talks start at 8:00pm, with an  intermission. Full list of speakers and topics.

Speakers for Ignite Seattle #30

Our 30th Ignite event is Thursday, May 26th, 7pm/8pm at Town Hall Seattle. Tickets $5 at the door or in advance (we frequently sell out – buy tickets early. Or NOW. Really).

Doors open at 7pm, with a cash bar and a fun (optional) social interactive game (you don’t have to play, and since there is a bar you can stand and drink and make fun of the people who do, but we suspect you’re more likely to play than you think).

Talks start at 8pm, with an nicely sized intermission halfway through for you to do various acts of biology and sociology, including getting more drinks.

We received more than 55 talk submissions. Many were excellent. But since we are restricted by the laws of physics we had to pick just 16 speakers for this event (If you have supernatural powers beyond the laws of please volunteer: we can use you).

Here is the glorious list of amazing speakers:

Looks like a great night, yes? Get your tickets here. 

Tickets on Sale for Ignite Seattle #29

Our 29th Ignite event is Thursday, February 18th, 7pm/8pm at Town Hall Seattle. Tickets $5 at the door or in advance (we frequently sell out – buy tickets early. Or NOW. Really).

Doors open at 7pm, with a cash bar and a fun social interactive game-like-thing (you don’t have to play, and since there is a bar you can stand and drink and make fun of the people who do, but we suspect you’re more likely to play than you think).

Talks start at 8pm, with an nicely sized intermission for you to do various acts of biology and sociology, including getting more drinks.

For Ignite Seattle #29, we received more than 55 submissions. Since we are restricted by the laws of physics we can only have 16 speakers in one event (If you have supernatural powers please volunteer: we can use you).

Here is the delightful roster of magnificent speakers for the evening:

(Speaking order TBD. Stay for the whole night – you’ll get far more than your $5 worth):

  • Yes, I’m having an identity crisis – Sarah Novotny
  • Why I’m bringing Robots to Prison – Lindsey Wilson
  • How to Talk to Your Teenage Son about Sex – Hillel Cooperman*
  • The Data Is In: How To Improve Your Neighborhood – Shelly Farnham*
  • Choosing Our President: How To Caucus in Our State – Jon Culver
  • Molecular Machines and Designer Drugs – Franziska Seeger
  • De-Isolation: Overcoming Social Anxiety – Bill Bernat
  • How To Catch an Idea and Make It Yours – Mark Teppo
  • There’s So Much Bullshit Around Coffee – Jacob Fleisher
  • The Taboo of Death Talk – Dani Buckley
  • How the Super Loop Saved Me – Tamara Clammer
  • Make Law, Not Sugared Water – Dan Lear
  • How To Catch Mackerel In Norway – Judy Oldfield
  • 12 Things I learned about Teams By Coaching Little League – David Betz
  • By Their Surplus You Will Know Them – Peter Adelsheim
  • How I Went From Blogger To Pro Food Writer in 10 Short Years – Naomi Tomky

* = Ignite Seattle Alumni

Looks like a fantastic evening, yes? Get tickets here. 

Videos for Ignite Seattle #28 Now LIVE

Thanks to everyone at our sold out show at Town Hall Seattle  last Thursday. It was a fantastic evening in so many ways because of you and the great show our speakers put together.

The ever diligent Bootstrapper Studios has already posted all videos from the talks, listed here for your viewing and sharing pleasure. If you couldn’t make it here’s your chance to enjoy what our speakers had to share. Please spread the word.

Complete Event in one single video

1st Half

2nd Half