In 2009, I spoke at TEDxNASA, the world’s first TEDx event.
Seventeen hundred rocket scientists filled the audience. My talk was called “Rocket Science. It’s Always Rocket Science.” The premise: the best ideas rarely come from within your own area of expertise. They come from connections to other fields.
I had six minutes.
Compressing that idea into six minutes was one of the hardest things I have ever done as a speaker. The structure was simple. An opening. Three very short stories. A conclusion. Every word had to earn its place. Anything that did not serve the idea got cut.
When I walked off stage, the clock read 5:59.
This Friday, I face something harder.
On paper, it looks easier. I have twelve minutes. Twice the time. But at TEDxNASA, I stood in one place and talked. I controlled every second. This time, I am running a Personality Poker session. The full experience normally takes an hour.
In those twelve minutes, the audience will trade cards with each other. I will step off the stage and into the crowd to demonstrate a trade myself. Loud music will play before, during, and after. I cannot script how long a conversation in the audience will last. I cannot predict how quickly people will finish trading and sit back down. I have to build in cushion for the unpredictable while still landing every key moment.
A six-minute monologue is hard because you must cut everything that does not matter. A twelve-minute interactive experience is harder because you must do that and surrender control at the same time.
There is a quote often attributed to Mark Twain, though it probably belongs to Blaise Pascal: “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.”
Short is hard. That is exactly why it works. The constraint forces clarity. You have to know precisely what you want the audience to think, feel, and do. Everything else goes.
Give me sixty minutes and I can improvise, my preferred style as it feels natural. Give me twelve and every second counts.
Wish me luck on Friday.
And I am curious: what is the hardest talk, pitch, or presentation you have ever given? I would bet it was not the longest one.