The scene: You are at a professional conference, prepared to give a 15-minute talk. However, your assigned session is running 20 minutes late. Your talk is sandwiched between many other speakers. What do you do?
The rookie response: When it’s your turn, talk as fast as possible, flash through every slide quickly, and cut out some key points that you wanted to make, because you are worried about the next presenter being irritated about their timeslot being delayed.
The my-way-or-the-highway response: You deliver your talk exactly as you had timed it, everyone else be damned. Maybe you even take more than 15 minutes.
The seasoned response: You are well prepared to do a 1-minute version, a 3-minute version, or a longer version of your talk as time allows. You have thought through how to flex the content to fit the allowable time, and you know exactly what key takeaways you will emphasize.
I was that rookie once, trying to squish my presentation in between other people who had more of the my-way-or-the-highway approach. Decades later, as a speaker, meeting facilitator, and professional coach, I’m here to help you design a more seasoned approach. Why? A pervasive challenge that I see across industries and events is the problem of a presenter having a truncated time slot from what they were initially expecting. I have seen tech issues, confusion over directions, and parking challenges leading to late arrival times, then layered with even more tech issues that lead to conference event sessions running late. I’ve seen speakers in a multi-session series going way past their allotted time, even when a timekeeper is trying to let them know that they are past time. These days, when I’m the one creating an event agenda, in anticipation of unexpected delays, I try to include figurative time cushions when I can. In other words, when possible, I build in time buffers. However, no matter who is designing that agenda, unexpected truncated time spots happen. Here are three ways for you as a speaker/presenter/person-trying-to-say-something-to-someone-else to manage your speaking time, even when you feel like time has managed you:
1. Get super clear on your main, big picture point or idea. What is the biggest thing that you wish people would know? If you have the shortest amount of time available to you, what do you need to blurt out to get the main point across? While the temptation may be to give people every last detail up front, wait to share the details. When I coach others on their presentation prep, I encourage them to think about keeping those details in their figurative back pocket. That way, you will be ready to mention them as needed. Pull them out when your audience asks you for clarification as time allows. Lead with your main point. Prioritize it and make space for it. Practicing this approach of sharing the main idea first will help you in other ways – including sending out an email – some people refer to this concept as bottom line up front (BLUF).
2. Talk about a concept that only you can talk about. What is your unique take on a concept that others may not perceive or think about? If you have a lot of things that you could or want to say, the temptation is to say it all, explaining a lot of background, which may not leave time for the key stuff that you actually want to dive into. What are the points that only you can say? Share those key things that you especially know – that someone could not easily do for you. If you find yourself with unexpected limited time, focus on your unique takes.
3. Adjust your timing, accordion-style. Every situation is unique. Practice reading the situation. As in, for each situation, start to develop an awareness of: your audience, the context, the time of day, and what else is going on around you. Use those considerations to help you to flex with compression or expansion, like an accordion. Sometimes we need to speak with brevity; other times we get a longer window. Try to get a sense of what you can fit into a minute, three minutes, ten minutes, and so on – without rushing. Having that skill will give you flexibility to stretch or compress the information-sharing as time allows.
To be sure, some information is not compressible. Even so, you can name it as such. That way, you are able to satisfy your own personal need for detail while still tending to the limited time window. For example, you can say, this information is really for an hour-long conversation and right now we have five minutes. So, right now I will tell you that the big picture is XYZ, and it has a lot of context and nuance; it is not a yes or no situation.
Even if you are that person who arrives super early, lateness happens for others, and the speaker before you might run over time, by a lot. Having a plan in advance for how you will manage an unexpected truncated time spot at your next talk or presentation will help you to quickly adjust in the moment. My hope for you is that no matter how much time you have available to speak – a little or a lot – that you will allow yourself time to speak at a calm pace. It will give people time to engage with your concepts and to absorb the information that you are sharing.
Let me know what questions you have as you prepare your next talk!
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Disclaimer: These tips are meant to be a helpful starting point of ideas. Proceed at your own risk. Each person and organization is different, and this information may or may not help you. Try what resonates with you, keeping in mind common sense and circumstances. Seek professional advice that is tailored to your specific situation.
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