Invitation to Give an Ignite-Style Talk at the ICF-RAC Conference 2017

The 2017 ICF-RAC conference will start out with a series of Ignite-style talks about the conference theme, The Impact of Coaching: Enrich, Empower, Engage.  You are invited to apply now for one of these 5-minute speaking slots.  Be one of the coaches that energizes the room.

What is an Ignite-style talk?

An Ignite-style talk is 5 minutes long. Each speaker creates a Powerpoint deck of 20 slides that is automated to move forward to the next slide every 15 seconds. As Scott Berkun, author of How to Give a Great Ignite Talk says,
"Having slides that automate seems mad, and in a way it is, but the surprise is that for most speakers it forces them to be far more concise and thoughtful than they would in any other format. "

Why Ignite Talks?

We are curious about the latent talent and wisdom in all of our members, not just the few we have heard from in monthly meetings. So we are looking for ways to give the mike to more members so we can hear coaching insights from a wider range of fellow coaches. Last year the 12 Ignite-style talks were a highlight of the conference.   The Ignite talks will be recorded, so you can embed them in your own web sites.

How will we use the Ignite Format?

We invite all members of our chapter and neighboring chapters to think about what you'd share if you had the full attention of other coaches for 5 minutes.

During the October 13 ICF-RAC conference, we will have one session of Ignite talks with openings for 6 to 8 speakers to share their thoughts.

Our plan is to select talks that support the theme:  The Coaching Impact:  Enrich, Empower, Engage.  The Ignite talks will happen early in the day, so we're looking for talks that enhance the energy in the room.

Who can apply?

We are accepting applications from anyone who is a member of ICF-Global and able to attend the conference in person. You don't have to be a member of ICF-RAC. That means we may learn from the wisdom inherent in other chapters in the Southeast.

How can you get a slot?


Submit a short application helping us understand the topic you plan to address. To prime your thinking, here are some questions you might consider addressing:

  • What have you found had the most positive impact on your clients?
  • How do you bring out the best in your clients? 
  • What approaches, questions, mindsets, or skills could the rest of us learn from you? 
  • How have you found the clients you are most meant to serve? 
  • What experiments have you tried with your coaching practice, and how have they worked? 
  • What have you tried that was scary to begin with but then really bore fruit? 

The short application needs to be available to the committee first thing Monday morning August 14, 2017.

We want an abstract (50 to 150 words), assurance that you are an ICF member, a brief statement about how your talk supports the conference theme: The Impact of Coaching: Enrich, Empower, Engage, and a very brief bio for the conference materials. 


How do you prepare to speak?

We will let speakers know who has been selected with plenty of time for you to prepare and practice. 

  1. Prepare your slides: We will provide the automated powerpoint template, and we ask speakers to send us the prepared slides before the conference so that we can have them all on one computer ready to roll. With 5 minute talks, we can't spend 5 minutes switching speakers. 

  2. Check out some examples. Here is a link to 15 recordings of Ignite talks given at another conference. I'm the first speaker, and I talked about mistakes I'd made. The last speaker, Shannon Polly, even followed bullet 8 in Scott Berkun's list: she hacked the format. She also gives and models some good advice about giving talks. 

  3. Practice! From Scott Berkun again: 
    "300 seconds is easy to practice. You can practice 10 times in an hour. Do it (The average Ignite speaker practices 5 times). 300 seconds equals 10 television commercials – you can make great points in a short time if you refine your thoughts. The entire Sermon on the Mount can be read in about 5 minutes and The Gettysburg Address takes about 2 and a half minutes." 

Important links: 


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