I came across some TED talks last night, and was impressed by the quality of them. I was also struck by the fact that these talks have a maximum length of 18 minutes. Why?
It’s long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people’s attention..... ....By forcing speakers who are used to going on for 45 minutes to bring it down to 18, you get them to really think about what they want to say. What is the key point they want to communicate? It has a clarifying effect. It brings discipline.
I'm wondering whether this is a discipline we need to follow in relation to our preaching? How long can the average person comfortably listen to a speaker? I don't think it would be much more than 18 minutes.
2 comments:
Very timely Duncan, was that written for me?
Definitely not, Mike! A significant number (if not all) of my own sermons run well beyond 18 minutes. I just wonder whether the challenge of having to stick to a shorter time might be both good for preachers who have to be clearer on what they want to communicate and for listeners who probably struggle to concentrate much beyond 18 minutes.
Post a Comment