A few days ago
Xan

How long should my presentation be to be 5-10 minutes?

Ok so I’m still pretty awful at presenting orally, so I am wondering about how long it should be exactly. My actually written turn in part is 2 pages (12 pt font, double spaced), should I narrow my notes for the in-class part to about 1 page to be able to present in 5 minutes or a little more? Any general rule of thumb on this?

Top 4 Answers
A few days ago
wisdomdude

Favorite Answer

Practice, practice, practice.

There is no simple conversion of written text pages to audio speech…many variables to consider besides a simple linear rate of speaking….pauses for emphasis, gestures, etc.

Since you have slides in Powerpoint, use the set up functions to practice the timing….it isn’t just show the slide and talk at it and change the slide….not all slides will need the same amount of text/words or comments about them…so the variations are best all worked out by practice.

Use a tape recorder when you practice. Turn it on…do the entire talk start to finish…don’t worry about the flubs and errors….keep going to the end. This is like practicing touch typing….practice, practice, practice….errors occur…keep on typing. As your proficiency improves, then you work on the accuracy in typing to reduce the errors. No sense typing or speaking fast if you have lots of errors. Playback the tape and watch the timing…use a stop watch or clock with a second hand…make some time notations in your written text so you have a sense of how long it takes to get to what part of the text.

Multi pages vs single page…depends on the set up…is there a podium (stand) that you can put the papers on? If so, fine, no one will generally see them.

I tended to put notes on 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 note cards. One slide, one card…one topic, a series of cards…one card per point being made. The cards helped give me a sense of timing…and could be rearranged as needed whenever changes were required in the presentation.

A good sense of humor helps…and flexibility too in case of a glitch..you might be able to pull it all off with a chuckle and no one will know there was a problem.

hope this helps….good luck and best wishes on your presentation.

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A few days ago
warneker
One double-spaced, typed page in 12-point and Times New Roman font on average equals about 2 minutes of a person talking at an average rate.
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A few days ago
Jennifer B
Its impossible to know exactly how long you’ll take. Just keep these points in mind. Most people tend to talk fast because their nervous. Youre bound to forget to cover at least a couple of your points while looking at your audience so add a few extra. Your more likely to come up short on minutes, especially if your in a team (everyone depends on everybody else to take up the slack) So in your situation I would ADD where I could.
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A few days ago
Smooch The Pooch
The best way to do this is time it. Practice your presentation and time it. Once you have it timed you can add or take away if needed.
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