Obama articulated a liberal vision for the country. You may disagree with his argument, but he made it clearly and concisely—the speech lasted only 18 minutes. Obama and his speechwriters are skilled communicators. They know that anyone who delivers a speech longer than 18 or 20 minutes risks losing the attention of the audience.
There’s a point at which listeners move from being inspired to being genuinely ticked off because a speaker is talking too long. Don’t fall into the latter group. Keep your presentations to no more than twenty minutes. I call it the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ of public presentations—not too short, not too long, but just right. Here is a rule for how long to make your presentation:
A 20-minute presentation always beats a 60-minute one!
Entrepreneur, investor, and former Mac evangelist, Guy Kawasaki, once told me that an investor pitch should last no longer than twenty minutes. Most investors I’ve spoken to agree. But don’t just take my word for it—or Kawasaki’s. The rule is based on neuroscience and what we know about how the brain processes information.
I recently spoke to Dr. Paul King at Texas Christian University, an influential scholar in the field of communication studies for thirty years. I spoke to King about his research into “State anxiety in listening performance.” Most of us believe that “anxiety” only impacts the person giving the speech or presentation. Dr. King has discovered that audience members feel anxiety, too.
“We studied research participants—college students—who listened to information knowing that they will be asked questions about it afterwards. As time went on, their state anxiety levels just went up and up and up until after they took the test. Then their anxiety level dropped off,” King said. According to King, the accumulation of information results in “cognitive backlog” which, like piling on weights, makes the mental load heavier and heavier. “As more and more stuff you need to remember piles on, it creates greater and greater pressure and pretty soon you’re going to drop it all.”
King says that cognitive processing—thinking, speaking, and listening—are physically demanding activities. If you pile on too much information, you create “anxiety”—cognitive backlog—and your audience will actually turn on you!
Let’s take a look at a typical scenario where a CEO is giving his employees a quarterly update. The cognitive backlog could pile up easily if the CEO doesn’t pay attention to time. Here’s what an employee in the audience might be thinking after the presentation begins.
10 minutes: This is great. Our CEO is getting us pumped up about the quarter ahead. We seem to be hitting on all cylinders. I really dig this company.
20 minutes: Now I know the three most important initiatives for the coming quarter. Sounds good. I have a big day ahead and I’m fired up to place those calls I wasn’t looking forward to at the start of the day. Let me at it! Oh, wait. There’s more.
30 minutes: I’m confused. Are the five goals he just mentioned the same as the three initiatives? Where’s he going with this?
40 minutes: Dear God. Is this guy still talking??
60 minutes: I never realized my CEO is so full of himself. Three initiatives, five goals, twelve proposals, and something else I can’t remember. I’m tired, hungry, and really ticked off.
The CEO in this scenario violated the 20-minute rule and paid for it. He lost his opportunity to inspire because he didn’t understand “cognitive backlog.”
When I’m invited to be a keynote speaker, I’m asked to speak for up to an hour. How do I keep the audiences’ attention without breaking the 20-minute rule? It can be done. I build in soft brain breaks that include video, stories, and audience participation.
The best corporate presentation I’ve ever seen was the launch of the iPhone in 2007. The entire product launch last nearly 90minutes, but Steve Jobs didn’t give a 90minute presentation. At exactly 15minutes into the presentation, Jobs launched a demo of the new device. He also introduced other speakers including Apple executives, partners, and developers. The frequent brain breaks made the time fly by.
I bring up the iPhone launch because there’s an exception to every rule and you will find a few extraordinary presentations that last longer than 20 minutes. I think you’ll find, however, that even the exceptions apply the rule—breaking up the content into shorter bursts of information. Steve Jobs was one of the greatest public communicators corporate America has ever known, but he didn’t give 90 minute continuous presentations. He spoke for 10 to 20 minutes before introducing a soft break. Don’t lose an opportunity to inspire your audience of investors, employees, or customers by talking too long. Stick to the Goldilocks Zone and you’ll never go wrong.
Carmine Gallo is the communications coach for the world’s most admired brands. He is a popular keynote speaker and author of several books, including the international bestsellers The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. His new book, The Apple Experience, is the first book to reveal the secrets behind the stunning success of the Apple Retail Store. Carmine has recently launched an eLearning course titled, The New Rules of Persuasive Presentations. Follow Carmine on Facebook or Twitter.
