Ignite Detroit Talk

[Andrew Herron]

So last year I presented at the first Detroit Ignite with a talk about amateur radio, called 'Hamming it up'. It was a great time and I really enjoyed the challenge of distilling such a broad hobby into 5 minutes. It was a lot of fun and I'd love to do it again, this year on storm spotting.

With my ham radio talk, there was a mix of technical and comical material, which I think helped bridge the gap between technical knowledge and ignorance. I'd like to do the same and I'm looking for input. Perhaps you've described something meteorological in a matter that elicited laughs, or there's something important you've seen people completely ignorant of. I want to know about it. This is my opportunity, given only 5 minutes of one, to have full access to a group of people from all walks of life, of all education levels. I'd like to think of it as an intro, a teaser, to the real Skywarn training that is provided by the National Weather Service.

Sure, I want to share the joy I have when seeing the inflow to a rare Michigan supercell, but I also want to provide some edutainment, something for them to take away that could save their life, all the while laughing.

So, to that end, I'd like some photos, primarily from those Midwest chasers among us, but also of those most glorious storms that most of us from this region will never experience. Credit will surely be given and any accompanying anecdotes will be greatly appreciated.

Ignite talks are voted upon until about 3 weeks before the talk, which is the end of April, so I may ask for your support in helping to getting it accepted.

At the very least, I ask you to check into Ignite talks in your area. It's the perfect opportunity to share something about yourself, something you love, or anything else you've an interest in.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Todd Renshaw]

Hi Andrew. I can't tell you much about storm chasing - don't know enough about it yet to be of much use. But I do teach a class at a local greenhouse. So I have to try to keep my subject light and accessible to those without any prior knowledge. Everyone comes in expecting you to be an expert and bombard them with your superior knowledge. I find it helps to tell a story that shows I'm a regular joe just like they are. That I'm still learning myself. This is also a good way to break the ice and hold their attention before you get into the who, what, where and why of a subject.

Have you ever had a funny/scary misunderstanding while storm chasing? A near miss while you were stuck in the mud? Do friends and family think you're nuts? (If so, start with a story about yourself from their perspective.)

Don't know if that helps or not, but there you go.

(Also, I see you're following me on Twitter. Wish I had something interesting to say there. I'm just using it to follow others for now.)

 

[Andrew Herron]

Thanks for the input, greatly appreciated! Last year was the first time I had spoken in front of such a large group, let alone about such a broad and complex topic like ham radio. It was a hard lesson learned about 24 hours before my talk when I decided to throw away my work and start over. Weather is something that affects everyone so I'm really going to try and focus on things that people can look for to help keep them safe, and alleviate any potential problems (like going on a drive that lasts 20 minutes while just 5 minutes a storm rolls in).

I'm pretty active on Twitter, primarily for amateur radio, but also a fair amount of PR/Marketing/Social Media/Analytics chit chat. I've met lots of wonderful and interesting people there.

Thanks again for the comments, they are well received.