Simon Anholt gives an interesting speech here. It’s chock full of fresh ideas, his delivery and pacing are sharp, he has ample data to back up his thesis, and most importantly, he has a strong call to action. But I would like to call your attention to it’s length… nearly 2o minutes. I would argue that this is a 12-15 minute speech, and not a twenty minute speech.

What could be cut? A good portion of the first half. The speech really picks up when we get to the concept of the “Good Country Index”. The first half strikes me as redundant. Mr. Anholt criticizes the organization of nation states repeatedly in the first half, but he offers no statistics, no analogies, no comparisons, and no interest. So what we are left with are largely platitudes. But a great speech needs to be more than an interesting idea, it has to be backed consistently throughout with data , and then enlivened with comparisons, contrasts, quotes, stories and analogies.

Time your speeches. Get feedback. Whittle unnecessary filler. You’ll be glad you did.

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