Ignite Sydney

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If you had 5 minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Why is this a good idea?

Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to enlighten us - quickly. The idea of Ignite is simple – make the presenters stick to a rigid format of 20 slides, each of which changes automatically after 15 seconds, giving a guaranteed 5 minute presentation. It forces the presenters to think long and hard about every slide. How many times have you heard the presenter say “this slide isn’t important”? Well – get rid of it then! Conversely, there are the presenters who talk to a single slide for 10 minutes, by which time you’ve lost interest, the plot, and probably the will to live. Ignite is all about making the slides dynamic and exciting, and forcing the presenters to think about what they show. Best-selling author Scott Berkun has a great article at Forbes.com which discusses why Ignite is the way of future presentations. If you’re sick of Death By Powerpoint, then come along to Ignite Sydney, where you’re guaranteed a fun night of entertaining and educational presentations. Ignite Sydney is curated and managed by Stephen Lead.

22/10/2026

Bao at Ignite?

Yes please.

Our mates at Nuance Food will be coming on the night. Cooking up some Vietnamese favourites. Bring your appetite.

See you Tuesday 🍜🥳🍜🥳

22/10/2026

Bob is a Jeopardy legend. He will be on the Ignite Talks stage next Tuesday. See you there.

20/10/2026

Excited to have "The Australian Hero" Lee Morrow on board for next Tuesday’s ignite. Behind everyone is a story, this is Lee’s, so far.

01/10/2026

Ignite Talks Sydney

23/09/2026

⚠️ Final incoming speaker announcement…

Bob Harris - S*x, death and prizes: Bob Harris has won hundreds of thousands of dollars on US quiz game shows - he has tips 🥳

Jane Turner - It’s never too late to have a happy childhood: Author Jane Turner talks about her Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosis and her surprising insights.

Kirstin Reblin - Tiny bug. Big storm: A healthy person has a thousand wishes; a sick person has only one - what happens when life suddenly changes course?

Jen Marshall - Overachieving pets: how strategic management tools wrecked my midlife crisis and how i fixed it.

Steve Kimmens - We won’t ruin the surprise but iykyk

I mean really, that’s 15 talks, 1 night!! All for as low as $35

You need to buy tix here https://ignitetalks.com.au

22/09/2026

⚠️ Incoming speaker announcement round 2:

Woop, here’s our second round of speaker announcements for Ignite Sydney this year.

Mark Skelsy - Journalist and award winning author Mark Skelsey shares the real story of the community that battled to build the iconic Inner West Greenway

Liam Jordan - Turnbuckles and the power of choice: legendary professional wrestler Lee Morrow shares his journey: suplexes, tragedy and the choices that define us.

Lana Shaba - Confidence: 10, Experience: 0… doing it anyway,
a guide

Gina Johansen - Is comfort making us weaker? Adventurer and extreme endurance athlete Gina Johansen reports back from extreme discomfort.

Kieran Hennig - Opening minds: psychedelics

Stay tuned for more announcements.

Oh, yeah to see these talks on October 27 at the Oxford At Factory (Darlinghurst Sydney), you need to buy tix here [https://ignitetalks.com.au](https://ignitetalks.com.au)

21/09/2026

⚠️ Incoming speaker announcement ⚠️

We’re pretty proud to announce our first speakers for Ignite Sydney this year (more to come, stay tuned).

Ammis - What we’ve learned from hostage negotiators and how they handle stressful situations.

Mark Rhodes - 15 years of photographing naked people, Mark has notes.

Real History Walking Tours - Without stories, what are we? Telling stories is telling history, Ned is a creator and walking tour guide and knows the ingredients of a great story that will survive time.

Therese Frangie - The cognitive load of decision-making. CEO, mum and ridiculously high achiever Therese Frangie challenges us to think differently about where we place our decision making effort.

Richard Crowle - Ready enough: readiness isn’t having every answer, it’s simply knowing enough to make the next call.

Stay tuned for more announcements.

Oh, yeah to see these talks on October 27 at the Oxford At Factory (Darlinghurst Sydney), you need to buy tix here https://ignitetalks.com.au

18/09/2026

Just in time for the weekend, another throwback clip to when Kirstin Reblin shared her thoughts on how “language is not just words, it’s belonging, it’s identity”.

This one was a crowd fav from the 2025 show.

We ❤️ you Kirstin!

09/09/2026

After a sell out 2025 show, Ignite Talks Sydney returns to the Oxford Art Factory in 2026, with its famously fast-paced presentations that are guaranteed to blow your mind and enlighten your thinking.

Ignite Talks has become a staple fixture on Sydney’s cultural calendar thanks to its underground-music-venue setting and white-knuckle presentation format:

15 speakers
each talk is exactly 5 minutes
with exactly 20 slides
that auto-advance in exactly 15 seconds

The result is a fast-paced, high-energy evening designed to keep speakers on their toes and audiences leaning forward from start to finish. Equal parts entertainment and inspiration.

Address

38 Oxford Street
Sydney, NSW
2010

Website

https://ignitetalks.com.au/

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