This question is like an iceberg.
Short Answer, Up To 18 Minutes.
The simple, literal, and tip of the iceberg answer is that a TEDx Talk should not exceed 18 minutes, as mandated by TED.
If you aren’t 100% sure of the difference between TED and TEDx, check out my posts on what TED stands for and what is TEDx Talks.
So if TED allows for up to 18 minute talks, is that the length you should go for?
No. Not necessarily. Here is the rest of the iceberg.
Content. Less = More
We get somewhere around 300 speaker applications for every we host as TEDxWilmington. In 2017, we hosted 12 events.
Most speakers who apply to give a TEDx Talk choose the max or near the max length allowed. They are entrepreneurs, keynote speakers, and authors who are accustomed to giving 60 minute talks.
In their eyes, reducing a one hour talk by 70% seems impossible. How could they possibly eliminate major pieces of their already carefully crafted content?
It is not easy. President Woodrow Wilson said “If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.”
Despite the challenges of reducing your talk content, the exercise is essential in what TEDx stands for. In the honor of ideas worth spreading.
Your talk has to be about a single idea, and a concentrated talk length forces you to stay focused on that idea.
So what is the ideal length of your talk? There are a few variables that may influence the correct answer for you, but I believe the best length is 10 minutes. This is based on my experiences as an organizer, neuroscience, and following suite with industry leaders.
Learn From The Best Presenters
Apple is responsible for some of the best presentations of all time. Steve Jobs moved the world in 1984 when he introduced the original Macintosh. He did it again in 2007 with the launch of the first iPhone, yet again in 2010 with the first iPad. It goes without saying that Apple is thought leader in delivering flawless presentations.
In the fall of 2018, Apple demonstrated a routine product launch in a different way. They announced a new generation Apple Watch and it’s next generation of iPhones. Ten speakers took the stage in the first hour.
Every Apple executive to speak took no more than 10 minutes. They made this decision exclusively based to attention. Neuroscience researcher Dr. John Medina says humans have the ability to pay attention to something for 10 minutes, and that’s it.
My advice for you is to take the science to heart, as my personal experiences and interviews with speakers have the same result. Read below about what speakers tell me in their interviews.
Speaker Feedback On 18 Minute Talks
After over 150 TEDx speakers interviews, I’ve been able to recognize patterns. Particularly because I ask the same four questions:
- You just got off the stage, how was the experience?
- How was the connection to the audience?
- What makes you want to give a TEDx Talk?
- Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently?
That final question is especially interesting to me and my team. It’s a database of advice for future speakers.
Many speakers who chose 18 minutes say they regretted it during our interviews. They almost laugh at themselves after. They are more likely to lose their place and freeze. They have more safety zones or content milestones to establish. It’s a disaster.
What Are TEDx Organizers Doing?
Other organizers are following this model too.
I went to TEDxPittsburgh last summer for their 2018 Annual Event themed “Small Worlds”. It’s run by Chris Daley and Sara Lee Coffey and an amazing team that I spent the day with. They threw a great event, and had the Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz as their final speaker.
15 of their 16 speakers delivered their talks in 10 minutes or less. There was a great rhythm and consistency to the event. Speakers had the 700 person crowd for the right amount of time before the two emcees were transitioning to the next speaker.
For our third annual TEDxWilmingtonWomen event in November 2018, we experimented with this too. We did not allow our speakers to choose their talk length, we invited all 28 speakers to give a 10 minute talk, and no other length
It reminds me of Henry Ford… “You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black.”
Conclusion
Now that you have a full understanding of the size of this iceberg question, “What is the best length for a TEDx Talk?”, you get to decide.
You may be from a speaker ecosystem where 18 minute talks work best. Academic lecturers often fall into this category.
They have experience building sophisticated positions around a single argument, much like the format of a great TEDx Talk. Professoral types, along with a few other industry categories, are ready for a longer content model.
But for most speakers I encourage 10-12 minutes. Listen to the science. Follow the model one of the best corporate presenters. And listen to the TEDx community – speakers and organizers alike.
Let me know what your target length is in the comments below!
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