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      1. According to Alf Rehn, “the average attention span among people who listen to speeches is estimated to be somewhere in the 5–10 minute span, and often towards the lower end of this.” (alfrehn.com) However, he also claims that with a great speech you can hold people’s attention for at least 20 minutes.

      2. Rob Norris has summarized what we have all noticed about presentations with slides: “Audiences read much faster than you talk (250 words-per-minute vs. about 125), which is why they’ll almost always opt to read and be done with the slide before you’ve reached even the third bullet point.” (Quoted from Anderson, 2017.) Remember: do not read the text directly from your slides!

      3. Before you decide on any visual aids, you should ask yourself if your presentation really needs them. All audiences prefer you to talk to them rather than to just show some printed text! Besides, visuals as such do not necessarily improve your speech. They have to be carefully selected to achieve the goal you want. Beware of “Death by PowerPoint”!