How many slides in a 20-minute presentation?

how many slides for a 20 minute presentation
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Presentations—whether they’re for business or school, they’re a part of life. One of the first things you may wonder about when you’re assigned a presentation is how long it needs to be. You may also wonder how many PowerPoint presentation slides to use per minute.

How many slides for a 20 minute presentation? This is a question that often confounds business professionals and students alike. The answer, however, is not as complicated as you might think. In this blog post, we will discuss how to create a presentation that is both effective and engaging. We’ll also provide tips on determining the correct number of slides for your PowerPoint presentation design services!

20 minute presentation how many words

1. How long is a 20-minute presentation?

The average person speaks at a rate of 125 words per minute. This means that a 20-minute presentation should be around 2500 words long. If you’re using slides as part of your presentation, you’ll want to keep this number in mind when determining how many slides to use.

If you’re unsure how long your presentation should be, you can always ask your audience how much time they have for it. This will help you to gauge how long your presentation should be and how many slides to use.

20 minute presentation

2. What are the average slide lengths for different presentations?

The average slide length for a business presentation is 40 seconds. For a student presentation, the average slide length is 50 seconds. These numbers will help you to determine how many slides you should have in your 20-minute presentation.

If you’re not sure how long your slides should be, you can always ask your audience how much time they have for your presentation. This will help you to gauge how long your presentation should be and how many slides to use.

20 minute presentation how many words

3. How to figure out how many slides you need for a 20-minute presentation?

Now that you know how long a 20-minute presentation is and what the average slide length is, you can start to figure out how many slides you need for your specific presentation. To do this, simply divide the total number of words in your presentation by the average number of words per slide. For example, if your presentation is 2500 words long and you’re using an average of 40 words per slide, you’ll need 62.50 slides.

how many slides for a 20 minute presentation

4. Tips for creating effective slides

Once you’ve determined how many slides you need for your presentation, it’s time to start creating your slides. When creating your slides, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind:

– Use images and graphics: People are more likely to remember information that is presented visually. Adding images and graphics to your slides will help make your presentation more memorable.

– Keep it simple: You don’t want to overwhelm your audience with too much information. Stick to the essentials and leave out any unnecessary details.

– Be clear and concise: Make sure your slides are easily understood. Use short sentences and bullet points to make your information easy to digest.

Tips for Creating a Short Presentation

  • power of 3

The “Rule of Three,” a renowned writing principle, suggests that when things come in threes, they are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. Think of a famous phrase or slogan and chances are it’s structured in three.

Tell them those three takeaways at the beginning.  Flush them out in the middle.  And at the end, remind them of those takeaways.  Sticking to the power of three will make your short presentations memorable and incredibly effective.

  • Tell A Story

Telling a story is a surefire way to wrap your audience into your message.  We do not suggest telling your story for the entire 5 – 10 minute talk.   You may tell your audience you want to share a story that will drive home your point.

  • Stick To Your Purpose

Many times, speakers will go over the 10-minute mark of a short presentation because they’re not staying true to the purpose of the presentation or they’re adding in too many details that really aren’t vital to the purpose. At the beginning of any presentation, you create, think about the purpose and remind yourself of it so you’ll remember exactly why you’re giving the talk, to begin with.

tips to make a good presentation

1. Create an easy-to-follow structure

  • A compelling introduction. Your introduction needs to briefly sum up what you’re going to talk about and why it’s useful or relevant to your audience.
  • Offer a body of evidence. The body of your presentation is where you hit ’em with the facts, quotes, and evidence to back up your main points.
  • Sum up with key takeaways. The conclusion is where you loop back to your original statement and give the audience some key takeaways on how they can put into practice what they’ve learned.

2. Limit the number of copies on each slide

  • No more than six words per slide. Marketing king Seth Godin says we should have just six words per slide – that’s not a lot of copy. Choose your words carefully and rewrite them until you’ve got it just right.
  • Think of ‘bite-size’ information. We called ourselves Biteable for a reason: studies have shown that information is retained better when it’s broken down into bite-sized chunks. Video is a great way to learn and research suggests it’s 95%more compelling than text.

3. Have a plan for a smooth delivery

  • Have a practice run-through. There’s nothing like reading it out loud to ensure your message makes sense before you actually deliver it. Try recording your presentation on video — this way you’ll be able to review it with an accurate eye and notice whether your speech matches up with your slides. It’ll also help you sort out your run time.
  • Use a remote. A clicker or remote will help you face the audience and not have to keep turning back to your laptop. Sought-after public speaker Garr Reynolds says a remote is essential to pause and advance your presentation so you have time to be spontaneous and control the flow of your delivery.

Conclusion

As a general rule, PowerPoint slides should contain brief, useful and simple information and cannot be used without the provider of that action. Proper timing for each slide can improve your presentation as a whole, and the final result is the impact of the presentation.

FAQ

How many slides are in a 20-minute presentation?

The average person speaks at a rate of 125 words per minute. This means that a 20-minute presentation should be around 2500 words long.

What are the average slide lengths for different presentations?

The average slide length for a business presentation is 40 seconds. For a student presentation, the average slide length is 50 seconds.

How to figure out how many slides you need for a 20-minute presentation?

To do this, simply divide the total number of words in your presentation by the average number of words per slide.

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