You've been asked to report on your project.
It isn't a seminar. You haven't been asked to teach anyone anything, only to provide a snapshot so your colleagues or investors or peers can get a sense of what you've been up to, and why it matters. And because of the nature of the speaking event -- a business luncheon, for instance, or a conference break-out session -- there is a rigid time limit.
For many occasional presenters, this is a very tough assignment.
Regrettably, some begin planning their remarks with the wrong question:
"How much can I say in the time available?"
Thus they sabotage their own efforts before they even begin.
You see, a good presentation is not a function of time.
It is a function of need -- the audience's need for essential information, not your own need to impress everyone with the volume and scope of your efforts.
So the question becomes:
"What is the one thing, the Big Idea, I want my audience to remember, and what will it take to express it in the time available?"
Think about it like this:
Your audience watches television news.
They're used to hearing and watching about the destruction of entire cities by earthquake in a 60-second report.
They're accustomed to learning about the rise and fall of national economies in 30 seconds ... and with just a single graphic.
Entire political platforms or changing health care policies are reduced to 90-second essays.
Despite the brutal brevity of it all, TV audiences generally come away feeling like they've gotten much if not all of what they absolutely need to know on a subject.
They are thoroughly conditioned to expect a succinct, cogent, efficiently paced delivery of information. (Complete? Perhaps not. Enough? Arguably, yes.) It is these same audiences who are expecting you to be good, interesting and to the point in as few words and little time as possible. Unfamiliar with the grand orators of the past, modern audiences typically will not tolerate rambling dissertations or intricate examinations of a complex topic.
If as the speaker you are asking them for an hour of their concentration, you are asking for something unnatural. Their minds will drift. You will be talking largely to yourself.
Challenge yourself, therefore, as you plan your remarks: What does your audience need to know to satisfy your objective as a speaker? How can you most efficiently convey your message in a manner that is memorable and persuasive?
Does it really take 30 minutes to make your point? Or can you do it in 13 ... or three?
Now, a disclaimer is in order. As a frequent speaker about various complicated issues, I agree that audiences' expectation for brevity often is lamentable. Some topics are complex and deserve detailed elaboration. There are times I would cherish the luxury of taking a whole hour to describe something and make my case.
But that's not realistic.
So the questions I must ask instead are what is my specific audience's presumed level of interest? What content satisfies that interest? And how do I tell that story with the greatest efficiency?
I must always remember ... less can be more.
Recent Comments