If you have an upcoming presentation, investor pitch, platform talk or round table, consider redrafting your talk to make it much shorter and concise. Yes this is common sense, but it’s very difficult to do. If your allotted speaking time is for 10 minutes, draft your presentation to be completed in 4 minutes.

The challenge is that it will take normally double or triple the time to write a short speech vs. one that is long one. Being concise is very difficult.  When the time limit is long and we all can just continue to expand on the topic, tell more stories and of course have more slides!

How often are fearful of the risk of procrastinating and writing a speech at the last minute, as we have always been told to make the most impact to the audience, practice over and over again. The typical rehearsal includes presenting to your spouse, friends, and colleagues and of course in front of a mirror.

While it’s important to rehearse several times, in many cases the “long”speech might not have the necessary focus or impact for the respective audience.  Writing it short is hard work, but the results can be lasting.

If you want to have impact, test procrastination when writing the speech. This is not a strategy of just winging it in front of the podium.  Write you speech the day before or a few hours before the talk.

This sounds like a risky technique, but it works. There are many examples of famous individuals who procrastinate: Bill Clinton, Frank Lloyd Wright, Benjamin Franklin, and Henry Thoreau. The most famous procrastination speech of all time was Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream”.

“It’s a fine line of waiting till the last minute and the stress of rushing can create and personal doubts on the other hand it can enhance creativity.”, Adam Grant.