More about timing

My previous post was about timing humorous material, in other words, delivering it for maximum effect, but there is another type of timing that speakers need to master: simply knowing how long your speech, or a particular section of it, will take to say.

English speakers deliver approximately 180-200 words per minute in conversation but this will usually reduce to around 100-120 for public speaking (unless you happen to be a cattle auctioneer!) Furthermore, the material you have carefully timed in rehearsal is bound to take longer to deliver on the day so further editing will be required.

When I took my public speaking exams (I passed the LAMDA Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals and Associate Diploma in the space of a year) I had to deliver a number of short talks, starting with two prepared, four-minute presentations plus a three-minute 'impromptu' speech (just 15 minutes' preparation allowed) for the Bronze Medal. I timed the prepared talks, editing the material accordingly. I found that this experience of getting to know what four minutes 'felt like' was a huge help in working out what represented three minutes' worth for the impromptu (which, of course, was unrehearsed). The feedback from the examiner included her comment that I had 'an acute sense of timing' and I passed with Honours.

Since 1994, I have run a radio comedy show prep service, in other words, I ghost-write topical jokes and observations for commercial radio DJs each day. These performers have to have an amazing sense of timing; imagine being told by your bosses that at 10.20 am you can deliver a joke just as a particular record is beginning to play, the record has a 17-second instrumental introduction, your speech must fill that time and then finish a split second before the vocals on the record begin! Sometimes even less time is allowed but good broadcasters manage this, show after show, year in, year out.

Public Speaking Tip #15: Rehearse your material with the aid of a stop watch and then edit because it always takes longer on the day! The more often you speak, the sooner you will develop a sense of how long your speech (or a section of it) will take to deliver. This can be invaluable if you find yourself having to make last-minute alterations, for example, when an event is overrunning and you have been put on late and told to cut your speech down (believe me, it happens!)