Time is precious to you as a speaker, and even more so for your audience. I am often asked “How much do I say?”, “What should I cover?” and “How to deliver all that I want to say?”

Part of the considerations is to ask ourselves as the speaker “How much time do I have?”. This may be concretely given, for example, by the conference organiser; or it may be subtly given by our bosses when he posed a question along the office walkway. If we have a wise assessment of the amount of time we have (be it 20 minutes or just 2 minutes), by listening to the way the question was asked and observing the mannerism and body language of our bosses, then we can quickly go to our internal clock and determine how much content can we provide. A 20-minute speech is vastly different from a 2-minute speech.

I’ve given numerous speeches formally and informally that my internal clock can guide me on how much content I can deliver within that limited space of time. This internal clock will very quickly help me decipher what is the most relevant and critical content that I should prioritise and say it before the time and my audience’s patience runs out. This internal clock will also train my public speaking discipline to get to the point, be organised and be concise.

The more you oil your internal clock through practice and experience, the more precise your internal clock will perform.

Mike Ng

What determines the functions and gears of your internal clock? These include your normal speaking rate (words per minute), your language abilities, your familiarity with the subject matter, how often do you speak about it, do you know how to organise your content quickly and purposefully, how much does the audience already know about the topic, do you need to provide just information or do you need to persuade with the information, etc.

An effective speaker worries not about the lack of time, he only worries about not knowing how much time he has.

Mike Ng

Keep tuning and keep consulting your internal clock. Always have a sense of time-keeping within you to deliver concise and purposeful content within the given time. The next time you know how much time you have, you will also know how much and what to say. Soon, you will come across as a highly productive person, a part of your public speaking persona. Find out more at publicspeakingpersona.com

Every speaker has a unique public speaking persona. My public speaking persona is highly energetic, straight to the point, at times provocative with a little wittiness. What’s yours?

Mike Ng

Curious about bringing out your authentic voice, defining your public speaking persona and in speaking confidently to your world? Want to find out more?