Presentation Timing Sheet
Work out the word budget BEFORE writing the script. Rehearse out loud and timed — a silent read-through will always tell you it fits.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/presentation-timing-calculator
The talk
- Title
- Slot length
- Q&A within the slot
- SPEAKING TIME
- My rate (timed out loud)
- WORD BUDGET
- Script words
- OVER / UNDER
Section by section
| Section | Slides | Words | Minutes | Cumulative | Cut if over? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The conversions
- Presentation delivery
- about 100-150 wpm
- Word budget
- speaking minutes × your rate
- Run time
- script words ÷ your rate
- 15-min slot, 5 min Q&A
- 10 minutes of talking
- 10 min at 130 wpm
- about 1,300 words
- ⚠ Q&A
- subtract it FIRST
- ⚠ Under 0.5 min a slide
- too many slides
- ⚠ Nerves
- make you FASTER, not slower
Before the day
- Q&A subtracted from the slot
- Speaking rate timed OUT LOUD, not estimated
- Word budget set before the script was written
- Rehearsed at least once, timed, standing up
- Conclusion rehearsed separately — it gets cut first
- A named section identified to drop if running late
- Slide transitions and any video time counted
- Checked whether the slot includes setup time
Rehearse out loud or the timing is fiction
Reading in your head runs far faster than speaking. A silent read-through will always tell you the talk fits, and it is wrong every time.
Decide in advance what gets dropped
If you are running late you will cut something under pressure, and the default is whatever comes last — which is usually the conclusion. Choosing the drop section beforehand means the cut is the one you would have chosen calmly.