Are You an18 Minute Speaker or Longer?

In recent years there has been a trend for some Christian speakers to speak up to 45 minutes.  I am not sure what caused that development.  Likely, one of our famous preachers or college ministry speakers started doing it and lots of folks just jumped in behind.  I am a constant complainer about college ministry events not starting or ending on time.  I was part of planning a regular collegiate conference where we had to change the daily schedule because the morning speakers were always going over their allotted time.

A friend who used to speak around the country said he would often be introduced as "the man of the hour" and they had told him he had twenty minutes.

So, is there a perfect time length to speak?  As it so happens, yes there is!

Well, maybe not perfect, but here is what some of the best know and have learned:

-Ted Talks are 18 minutes long. Nobody gets more than 18 minutes.  Ted Talk Curator, Chris Anderson, says, 18 minutes is "short enough to hold peoples' attention, precise enough to be taken seriously, and long enough to say something that matters."

-Biologists say the brain starts to tune out after 10 minutes. So, it is at the 9-10 minute mark that a gear has to shift, a prop used, or something done to bring the audience back again..  One conference leader said when he sees the audience attention waning, he holds up one finger and says, "let me tell you a joke."  Or, he says something startling.  It is both the gesture AND the statement that draws them back. Discussion or Q & A definitely changes the time and interest quotient as well.  It is possible to speak 15-20 minutes and then do discussion and answer questions for considerably longer. I love doing Q&A with college students and think we should do MORE of it.  Or, just give some time for them to speak their thoughts and opinions.

I have always said after one of our events that I would rather people complain that it was not long enough rather than wish it had ended earlier.

If you speak for twenty minutes or longer when preparing, do you think about a "hook statement" or a prop to draw their attention back for those that have waned?

One of the reasons I have always loved college ministry Lunch Programs is that the speaker usually has about 15 minutes.  Of course, there are a few who will spend five of it complaining about it not being enough time. Yes, it takes more work to speak for 18 minutes or less and say something of value.   But, the reason we speak is for college students to listen.....how long do you usually speak?

Should or could your college ministry be reaching more students?  Check out Reaching MORE College Students at www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.