Aeolian Talks

Share your thought

Ignite London is a high-energy evening of 5-minute talks by people who have an idea – and the guts to get on stage and share it. Run by Aeolian Hall staff and volunteers, Ignite London is a force for raising the collective IQ and building connections in our city.These five minutes talks are accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, and slides are automatically advanced.

The subject must be something that will inspire the community and can’t be shameless self-promotion or a business activity. These talks are designed to inspired our community and are recorded for posting on Youtube. It is both free to give a talk and free to come and listen. The concept is similar to TED Talks but in a smaller format.

We have offered this free event to our community for a number of years and featured specially themed Ignite Sessions such as Social Work, Alternative Medicine, Cancer and Education. The thematic Ignite sessions have often been presented in collaboration with various faculties at The University of Western Ontario.

Attend Aeolian TalKs

Attendance at Ignite is free. The best way to guarantee a seat at the event is to arrive early.

Become a Speaker?

Thinking about doing a talk? Please continue reading.

Step 1: Get Inspired

Scott Berkun from Ignite Seattle puts our fears to rest and inspires us to tell our story in exactly 5 minutes with 20 auto-advancing slides.

Step 2: Know the rules

In order to keep presentation times and expectations equal for all presenters, there are a number of rules that all presentations must follow.

1. Your talk proposal should be submitted 14 days before the Ignite event. Not all talk proposals make it to the schedule, but we aim to fit in as many passionate and unique ideas as we can. A proposal should be a short abstract/paragraph outlining the topic you wish to talk on.

2. Your talk must be exactly 5 minutes long. This is an extremely short amount of time. Be sure to practice your presentation to make sure you don’t go over time. We will give the MC permission to use a giant cane to drag offstage any speakers who go over 5 minutes. Make sure you are wrapping up on your last slide.

3. Your talk must be accompanied by 20 unique slides. Your talk should not hinge on transitions, animation or sound. If you have a video in one of your slides, you have to be able to talk over it, and be prepared if the video does not play – this slide will still be displayed for exactly 15 seconds. Presentations must be submitted to me in Powerpoint (.ppt) format.

4. Slides will auto-advance every 15 seconds. Keep this time limit in mind while crafting your slides, as 15 seconds is not a lot of time for your audience to read. Auto-advancing can help you with your pacing, but it can also be overwhelming if you cannot keep up with the slides. Practice, practice, practice!

5. Your slides are due 7 days before the Ignite event. We will request that you please email your presentation to admin@aeolianhall.ca. Changes may not be made to your presentation after your submission has been received.

Please Note: Your presentation will be recorded. The video camera will most likely be on a tripod, angled in such a way as to show you and your slides. Your presentations will be publicly viewable on the Ignite London YouTube page, and may be used to promote future events.

Step 3: Send us your proposal

Once you understand the rules and format of Ignite London, please begin the application process by sending an introductory email to admin@aeolianhall.ca outlining who you are and a few lines on what your topic is about.

I've performed with Inventions all over the world and I think that the piano, acoustics, and hospitality at Aeolian Hall are among the finest of any place we've played.
Bill Mays – Inventions Trio

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