How to Build a Perfect 45 Minute Talk

Choose the Right Topic — You have unique experience and industry expertise and this is why they have chosen your talk. But there’s no way you can cover your entire scope in 45 minutes. Choose one topic within your many possibilities — something not too broad, something catchy and relevant to today’s professionals and really stick to it. You can always build additional talks in your series (see our article on building a series of talks). Prepare from the Audience’s Perspective — The biggest mistake speakers make is to start gathering data upon data and throwing something together that is interesting to them. The important people here are the audience members. So before you start gathering research, sit down and put yourself in your audience’s position — What are the questions they would ask? What is their level of knowledge about this topic? Make a list of all the questions you think they might ask, and then group them into 4 question types — for example: Why is what you have to tell me of value to me? How can I use the knowledge? Tell us of success stories? And How do I incorporate it into my work? <img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:262/1*EjwTje32jYn_amk2y40YiA.gif" style="height:200px; width:262px" /> Now do your Homework — Answer the grouped questions in general bullets. Then see where you are missing quotes, stats, numbers and anything else that will support what you have to say, so the research and incorporate them in. Once you have everything bulletized, you can start to actually script it out. Divide into Slides — The rule of thumb for slides — one big idea per slide. Take your script and divide it into “bits” — every time a new idea is introduced, put it in a new slide. Then put the script into the speakers notes of each slide — later you can come back and decide on visual design. <a href="https://medium.com/@donnagriffit/how-to-build-a-perfect-45-minute-talk-eb8201aa4581">Read More</a>