At last week’s Disrupt HR Cleveland event I heard the following:

Disrupt Yourself.

This ain’t yo Momma’s Cleveland.

Get Out of Your Career Rut.

Stop Calling it a War for Talent.

Get Rid of Your Bereavement Policy.

Get Creative.

Get Involved.

Get Moving.

Yea #DisruptHRCLE was a great blend of rebellious HR, humor and Cleveland pride. I connected with great HR pro’s I’ve “met” in the social space and got to meet a ton of great local HR pro’s. I walked away from the event proud of my new/old hometown, motivated and excited to try another speaking event in the future (oh yea I spoke too…#kindofabigdealforme ) .

The best part? All presentations were in the five minute Ignite format (20 slides, 15 seconds each, 5 minutes). This is a great method to communicate information to our always-on, ADD raddled brains after a long day at work.

I spoke about my decision to move back to Cleveland and tied it back to changing desires in our workplace as evidenced by demographics and the long term outcomes of the Great Recession. When the video is posted to YouTube I will be sure to post it here.

In the meantime enjoy some of my tips on doing an Ignite style presentation (20 slides, 15 seconds each, 5 minutes total). If you have the opportunity I encourage you to consider doing a presentation in this format. It is a great way to test the public speaking waters and five minutes flies!

Ignite Format Tips:

1. Write a brief outline of your discussion

2. Start with a funny story related to your topic. This helps you relax and engages your audience from the get-go.

3. Find pictures for your slides that illustrate your points and will keep the focus off of you. You will spend a lot of time on the Internet searching for pictures, this will take a long time- that’s okay.

4. Set the timer on your slides and practice, practice, practice

5. Practice some more

6. Practice until you can present without looking at notes or note cards

7. Talk to Frank Zupan – he had a genius presentation!