Always seems that time slips away so fast. And unfortunately, most presenters let you know that. When you announce to your audience that “we’re about out of time…” or “before we close…” or “we only have five more minutes…“, you are effectively short-circuiting whatever else you have to say. I saw it happen twice today. Notebooks slammed shut, papers were collected, bodies leaned back, and watches were consulted with increasing frequency once the end-is-near was heralded. If you still have something to say, talking about time is counterproductive to your message.
Discussing time is generally bad. Monitor and control it, but don’t announce it.
