March 20, 2023

Ultra-short presentations

Presentation

All professional speakers are well aware of the classic presentation formula – 10 slides / 20 minutes, which is often attributed to Guy Kawasaki. Equally popular is the TED conference rule of 1 talk / 18 minutes. But every year, more and more presenters believe that these formats have become outdated.

“In 20 minutes, the audience will get bored, tired and run away,” is one such point of view that is more common today, and this is not surprising at all. Importantly, this opinion is backed by serious research, according to which the average presentation viewer loses interest and ceases to follow it closely after a maximum of ten minutes. This fact pattern is supported by an article by Carmine Gallo, published in Forbes back in 2014, but still relevant.

In light of this, an obvious and attractive solution is to create not just short, but ultra-short presentations, lasting only about 1 minute. The viewer will pay sufficient attention for this length of time, and even a very busy person will be able to find a window in their schedule to view a presentation of this length. It is no coincidence that the process of making 1-minute presentations has begun to be taught in some educational institutions. Interestingly, in some cases, students are given only 10–15 minutes to prepare them.

Of course, the ultra-short presentation format cannot be called universal. It is not suitable for a story about complex projects or detailed communication with an audience. But this is a great option when you need to present one product, product, idea or service based on principles that are already familiar to the audience. Especially when it comes to presentations addressed to your target audience.

Would it be possible to fit an online presentation of a new screwdriver, an add-on to a popular game, a set of brushes for painting, a dog leash, or a text editor extension into one minute? This is a rhetorical question. We are certain that there will be experts who will say that 30 seconds is enough for them.

The main thing to remember when creating an ultra-short presentation is that it is based on the principle: “Nothing more”. Before you add something to your presentation, consider whether you can do without it.

The most popular options for ultra-short presentations look like this:

A video featuring a speaker talking about the presentation’s object and / or demonstrating its capabilities. Alternatively, the viewer does not see the speaker, and the presentation is accompanied by a voice-over and / or text.
A video featuring a speaker accompanying their story with slides that appear in the frame.
A video with the speaker accompanying their story with drawings that they make during the presentation.

Of course, in the vast majority of cases, the ultra-short presentation is used as a recording. It is embedded on website pages, and links to it are sent to potential customers and partners. And, as a result, these presentations do not lead to a series of questions, answers and assumptions, such as: “What kind of presentation is this? Another commercial!” It is immediately apparent that this presents many advantages.

This does not, however, mean that questions from viewers may not exist, and they can easily be addressed using the Pitch Avatar service and application. With these tools, the presenter can quickly respond to each person who views the recording, communicating with them in live mode.

Let's summarize:

An ultra-short presentation is a suitable option when you need to interest the viewer with an idea, product or service based on principles familiar to the audience.
An ultra-short presentation is great for working with a targeted audience.
An ultra-short presentation is created according to the principle: “Nothing more”.
In most cases, an ultra-short presentation is created for use as a recording.

To get the beneficial effect from direct communication by the presenter with the viewer when working with an ultra-short presentation, it is vital to use feedback tools.