Never go overtime again during your presentation

5 helpful tips for successful time management.

There’s nothing more annoying than presenters going overtime, upsetting the entire program. But how should you manage your time when you are the one on stage? Here are 5 helpful tips:

1.     Use a timer

Als presentator ben jij meester over de tijd. Zelfs al onderbreekt iemand uit het publiek je met lange vragen, jij moet je presentatie op tijd kunnen eindigen. Om te weten hoeveel tijd je over hebt, gebruik je een timer. Handig is een digitaal keukenwekkertje dat aftelt. De timer op je telefoon kan ook, maar stel de vliegtuigstand in en schakel de wifi uit. Zo ben je niet afgeleid als je berichtjes of een oproep ontvangt.

2.     Practice your talk

Wondering how much time you will need for your talk? Practice out loud. Imagine your audience in front of you and present your talk to them. Be prepared for impromptu questions. You will often want to say too much. So drop a couple of less important elements from your presentation.

3.     Be flexible

The event organizer may have asked you to give a 20-minute talk, but could request to bring that down to 10 minutes the day of your talk, to make up for some lost time elsewhere in the program. Be prepared for this. Know which parts can be dropped without detracting from your main message.

4.     Go out with a bang

Never sacrifice your closing message. Instead, make it one to remember. Cutting your presentation short will only leave a bad impression. Repeat your key message once more, call your audience to action and share your contact details on your final slide.

5. ‘Walk, but never run’

Many presenters will begin to rush once they notice they are running out of time. Only, the faster you speak, the less your message will hit home. Take your time, pause between sentences. Are you running out of time? Drop some parts of your presentation, but never rush.