How long to speak for? Listen, you’ve been asked to speak. This is your one-off opportunity. Speak for 30 minutes or 45 you know, actually, you’re an expert witness. You are being asked to give a keynote speech. Speak for 60 – that’s a nice round number. They won’t feel that you’ve cheated them and that you’ll shortchange them.
Really?
Attention spans are getting shorter and shorter all the time. If you can’t grab people’s attention within six or seven seconds and hold it, what the hell are you speaking for?
You know, TEDMED and TED speeches, are limited to a maximum, a maximum of 18 minutes, but most of the successful ones are four, five, six or seven minutes. Limit yourself to that. You don’t have to tell them everything you know. You have to give them one big idea and then guess what? Shut up.