When you need to prepare a 5-minute talk, remember that Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Blaise Pascal, Henry David Thoreau, and more, made reference to, and adapted the phrase,
“If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter”.
A 5-minute talk is not easy. It can be a bit challenging to ensure that your topic focuses on, and celebrates the theme of the event where you will be speaking. Think of it as a mini-TED talk.
To get you started:
1. Start with how you want the audience to feel about your message. Consider what you want them to take away from your 5 minutes.
2. You need to be incredibly clear with your message. It needs to form the foundation of your full 5 minutes, so you don’t stray ‘off course’.
3. Story is vital to enhance your message. In a 5-minute talk, you have time to include 2 short stories which could be personal, but most importantly, relevant, and succinct. These need to help you explain your main message.
4. Less is more! You do not need to fill your 5 minutes if you are able to share your message in less time. Rather prepare something shorter, than feel the need to talk right up until the time the last grain of sand drops through the egg timer. You will end up rushing and not leaving the audience with an impactful message. And you do not need to share EVERYTHING you know about your topic! You
5. Do not use any of your time to thank the audience and the host for the opportunity to speak at the event or why this is important to you. This eats away at your 5 minutes. The host will be introducing you, so start with the first impactful line of your talk to grab the audience.
Have fun and be yourself! The world is waiting to hear from you.
Your 5-minute talk could be the start of something amazing – maybe even your book!
