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In the
Speechworks Code of Crimes Against Audiences, speaking
beyond your time limit during a presentation is a crime
punishable by hanging, being shot, electrocuted, drawn and
quartered, and lethal injection.
At the
very least, someone should give you a wedgie.
If you
have 20 minutes to speak, don't ever, under any
circumstances, speak for 21 minutes. The best presenters
will speak for 15 minutes and leave five minutes for
questions.
Don't you
feel abused by presenters that go beyond their allotted
time? Of course you do. Why don't you get up to leave?
Because like most people, you're too polite. But while you
may be sitting politely, you're steaming inside because the
dope at the lectern didn't have the discipline to rehearse
his presentation a few times with a stopwatch.
Recently,
we heard a media big shot speak to a convention hall filled
with about 3,000 people. He had one hour to speak.
Amazingly, he wasn't able to say everything in an hour. He
rambled through some interesting observations and the
occasional interesting anecdote. But to everyone’s great
dismay, toward the end, he said, "I know I'm out of time,
but let me add just a few things." He then spoke for 10
more minutes.
Good
heavens! If you can't say it in an hour you should seek
professional help.
Here’s a
quick calculation. His lack of discipline in preparing his
presentation had wasted 10 minutes for every one of the
3,000 people in the convention hall. That works out to a
total of almost three weeks of wasted time.
Remember, no one every
complained that a speech was too short.
At
Speechworks we help our clients learn how to give
presentations that connect with the audience. If you’re
interested in becoming a great communicator give us a call
at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net |
