Presentations and talks
Fit a talk into ten minutes
Ten minutes holds less than most drafts assume. Assign a duration to each section first, including the opening, transitions and closing, then fill each section to fit. Decide in advance what you would drop if you run long, so the cut is planned and not improvised.
A text to start with
I have [number] minutes to present [topic] to [audience]. My draft sections are [list sections with rough content]. My speaking pace is about [words per minute or slides per minute, or unknown]. Build a timing plan that gives each section a purpose and a duration, includes setup, transitions and closing, and marks one optional cut per section. Total the minutes and show the arithmetic.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Ten-minute timing plan
Total time allowed: [ ] Setup and introduction time: [ ] Closing and requested action time: [ ] Buffer I want to keep: [ ] Section name: [ ] Purpose: [ ] Planned minutes: [ ] Transition into next section, seconds: [ ] Optional cut and what it saves: [ ] Later section that depends on this one: [ ] Sum of planned minutes plus transitions: [ ] Actual time from first timed run: [ ] Clock time to start cutting: [ ] Order of cuts: [ ]
Time that goes uncounted
Add up the plan yourself. Plans tend to budget for content and forget the walk to the podium, loading slides, a demo that needs a second try or a thank-you at the end. Check that the closing has real time, since the requested action lives there. If the pace figure is a guess, say so and time yourself reading one section aloud before trusting the total. Confirm that each optional cut can be removed without breaking a later section that depends on it.
Ask another agent to check the result
Add the section times, transitions, setup and closing in my plan and tell me whether the total fits the limit. Identify any step missing from the budget, such as loading slides or a live demo. Check that no optional cut removes something a later section depends on.
Run it with a timer
Speak the talk aloud once with a timer, writing down the clock time at each section boundary. Compare those times with the plan and adjust the sections that ran over. Fix your cut order before the real session and note the clock time at which you will start cutting. If the event has a hard cutoff, ask the organizers how strictly the ten minutes is enforced.