Over the past couple of years, Ignite Phoenix has grown from an audience of 100 in a conference room to 600 people sitting in an auditorium. Now we’re growing again and stepping up to an 850 seat venue. It’s great to have this much room to meet the ever-growing demand for tickets. But there’s a downside.

It’s scary to stand up and talk in front of that many people.

There, I said it. It’s true though. Public speaking frightens many people. Fear keeps you from taking action, and not taking action means that we don’t receive that amazing submission you would have sent in.

I want to take a moment to speak in the voice of a former presenter, rather than as The Voice of Ignite Phoenix. I’m not an experienced public speaker. I don’t have a reason to do it very often. Before presenting at Ignite Phoenix #6, I’d never spoken before a group as large as the audience at Mesa Arts Center. But my presentation went well and I really enjoyed it. How did this happen? There are two big reasons: the preparation and support of the Ignite Phoenix team.

We don’t select 18 presenters and tell them to just get out there and do it. We only do that to the three slideshow karaoke victims contestants. For the presenters, we offer a lot of support to make sure each person puts forth the best presentation possible. The driving force behind this is Brian Carson, our resident speaker coach. Brian actually does speaker coaching as one of his day jobs, but Ignite Phoenix presenters get to take advantage of his knowledge for free! Before each Ignite event, Brian holds presenter training workshops which offer guidance in preparing a great set of slides and delivering an outstanding presentation. These workshops are usually held at the venue, culminating with a walk-through of the auditorium, stage and backstage areas.

During the time that presenters are creating their slides, Brian also offers a tremendous amount of support. He spends a lot of time reviewing slides and offering suggestions to any presenter who wants help. Seriously, he will answer any question a presenter throws at him.

The other part of our presenter support is Andy Woodward, our stage manager during the event. He’s the guy who makes sure presenters are where they need to be, miked up and ready to go. His genuine caring about making sure each presenter is mentally prepared to rock their presentation is fantastic. When I presented, it was very calming to have him running the show backstage.

So now you know how we take 18 people who may have little to no public speaking experience and help them to shine for five minutes on the Ignite stage. It isn’t magic. So if you’ve been afraid to submit, don’t worry. Get in touch with your passion and send in that submission! We’ll be here to help you along the way.