About

Ignite Seattle is the largest and oldest open submission public speaking event in the Pacific Northwest. We believe in the power of bringing people together through stories that inspire, enlighten, challenge, and entertain.

Since 2006, we have been gathering the greatest audiences in Seattle to hear interesting people tell fascinating stories in just 5 minutes. Each speaker gets 20 slides, which auto-advance every 15 seconds, to share their experiences and passions. It’s an evening of curated discovery, and our format helps speakers to be concise, focused, and engaged.

Ignite Seattle is a 501c3 nonprofit run entirely by volunteers. All proceeds from ticket sales, grants, and sponsorships go directly into our events and related programming. Our team of volunteer organizers takes pride in providing every audience with a deep sense of the community and possibility that surrounds us in every moment.

Our mission:

1. Provide a fun and supportive forum for sharing diverse ideas, hearing challenging stories, and building a community of curious and open-minded people.
2. Use the power of storytelling as a tool for entertainment, education, and bringing people together.‍
3. Teach our speakers and our audience the skills of storytelling and public speaking. All our speakers are offered professional speaker coaching, and between shows we teach public workshops open to all.

Don't live in Seattle or planning a visit to another city? Brady Forrest, one of the original founders of Ignite, started Ignite Talks PBC which coordinates Ignite events all over the world.