February 14 is the best time to talk about love. You love your job, don't you? This may sound less romantic than talking about your feelings to a man or woman, but not less important. You spend a lot of time of your life at a working place, so it is necessary to feel something good.
You love your job. So – you love to speak and sometimes (you can confess, everyone will understand) speak too long.
We will talk about presentation timing.
Ah, less and less romantic! – you sigh. Yes, but time managing is one of the keys to success of your work and business.
Guy Kawasaki, a famous Silicon-valley speaker and evangelist, says: "Your presentation should have 10 slides and last no more than 20 minutes". That's his 10/20/30 rule (30 is about font size, btw).
One of the most common mistake of the beginner (and sometimes we all make it) – do not control the time during the enthusiastic presentation. Big and serious events, exhibitions control this point – so you will be asked to finish or left without a microphone. At small events this will be a very uncomfortable moment too.
Train before
That's why it is better to train with a watch or timer at home. It only looks like 5 or 7 minutes is too much. Most people use to estimate the time wrong. Try to count a minute without watches and you will see – almost every time you will finish counting earlier or later than this minute ends. The same problem all of us can have in front of the audience.
When you are training to talk in your limited time at home or office, remember that during the event the real time goes not the same way: there are people's factors, technical problems, your worries, etc. That's why it is good to limit time more and more.
Count your limit
If you have 20 minutes, divide it in two: 10 minutes is your "home time" to speak in normal way. 5 minutes is your key-limitation time, don't exceed it when you are reading your text fluently from the computer screen. Don't overload this limit. People in XXI century have a fragmented type of thinking and some attention deficiency. They don't want to read, hear and think for a long time.
Now it's time to talk about KISS. Not about kissing (yes, we remember, it's February 14, but…) :)
What does it mean?
Keep It Short and Simple
One of the most important rules in public speaking. Use simple word constructions and clear ideas. It would be better to speak short and inspiring, so people will ask questions because they have an interest to your topic. Worse is to speak long and complicated thesises and looking to your sighing audience waiting for a coffee break.
So – prepare, don’t forget about KISS and… love your job.
Good luck!
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