Attempting to rush through your presentation during the last 10-15 minutes can make your audience feel empty and confused. You want them leaving your session feeling fulfilled. They should be walking away ready to take action and ready to share with others what they’ve just learned. The end of the session is your chance to summarize and reframe your content for your audience; it’s not the time to pile on new content at the speed of light. “We’ve got 10 minutes left, I still have 50 slides to show you so I’m going to move through these really quickly, I apologize, if you have any questions please send me an email.”
If you find yourself rushing to close your presentations, I recommend you practice the tips below.
Rehearse and get comfortable with the amount of time you may spend on a particular section. Don’t walk into a presentation assuming you’ll be able to finish on time without rehearsing your work. If you are using slides during your presentation, print a copy of your slides, 6 to a page, and write the number of minutes you may spend on each slide. Rehearse the content and adjust the time as you go. If you find your self running over your time, start to delete what isn’t necessary. I know deleting is hard, you have so much to cover, and it’s all important, but I promise, it’s going to be okay.
If you happen to be under your time, add a Q&A session, find areas where you can extend the learning, provide time for the participants to share what they’ve learned with each other.
Content covered does not equal content learned. Be purposeful about what you choose to cover, you’ll feel more successful and your audience will too.
