The Little World

Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I am honoured to be called to deliver this address.

Honoured and humbled. And it puts me in mind of an interesting anecdote from the time of the Siege of Cawnpore. It will only take an hour to tell…

Committees need to be thanked. Attendees and customers need to be thanked. So do workers, lurkers and shirkers – amongst whom I include myself. A good speech comprises this all – a great speech wraps it in 20 minutes.

20 minutes is the generally-recognized limit for audience attention in a lecture theatre. Then a five-minute break and a final wrap-up for a further 10. Maximum impact and retention of information.

You can go a bit longer if the speeches are accompanied by a Stuka attack. Concentrates the mind wonderfully…