There’s nothing people love more than getting out early. We’re all still like kids in school. Three to five minutes early is all that it takes and everyone feels like they’ve “won.” It displays your professionalism and shows that you respect the audience.
I coached a few executives this week. Everyone is busy. No one wants you to go over time unless they’ve given you permission.
When it comes to a live presentation, if you’re getting to the end of your time and you have a few chunks of material left to cover, you’re better off taking out entire sections than racing through the material.
The moment you start speeding along, two things happen: 1) the audience loses respect for you because (a) you look ridiculous, and (b) because in racing along, you have just broadcast to everyone that you were ill-prepared and hadn’t carefully timed things in advance, and 2) the audience stops listening because you’re moving so quickly that they can’t follow any of your ideas. Any information you might have to offer is lost.
As Napoleon Hill says, “Every defeat, every disappointment, every adversity carries with it the seeds of an equal or greater benefit.” Find the seeds and plant them.