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A group of sales professionals for a major television cable network asked me about the ideal length of a new business pitch. “A presentation intended to solicit new business or to pitch a company to investors should never, ever take more than 18 minutes,” I suggested. While there’s no “rule” governing the length of a new business pitch, decades of evidence support the 18-minute rule.
The famous TED conference is the gold standard for public speaking and presentations. TED talks are viewed online two million times per day. TED has been holding conferences for 30 years and its organizers have learned a few things about keeping an audience’s attention. They know what works and what doesn’t. TED organizers have discovered that 18-minutes is the ideal length of time to have a serious discussion without putting an audience to sleep.
TED is strict about its 18-minute time limit. Bono, Bill Gates, Sheryl Sandberg, Sting, and Tony Robbins have all had to stick to it. Eighteen minutes is all they get and not a minute more. The rock star, Sting, gave a TED talk in March to discuss the inspiration behind his new Broadway show. The video runs 23 minutes, but that includes a song at the end. His presentation took 18-minutes and 30-seconds.
Venture capital investors agree. I’ve yet to meet one investor who wants to hear a new business pitch that runs longer than 18 to 20 minutes. Many prefer only ten minutes, but 18 minutes is acceptable if you have a demo, a video, or more than one person speaking.
Violate the 18-minute rule at your own risk. The brain is an energy hog. Listening is an energy consuming process. Your listener’s brains will get saturated with information if you deliver a presentation that’s too long or has too many slides. Keep in mind I’m speaking about a new business pitch to peak someone’s interest and to encourage them to schedule a follow-up meeting. I’m not speaking of an ‘elevator pitch,’ which should only last about 15 to 60 seconds (see my column and video on How To Pitch Anything In 15 Seconds).
Think about it this way. While most of us have seen John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech, it was actually this speech at Rice University the following year in 1962 where Kennedy outlined his “pitch” that the nation should commit itself to a manned space flight to the moon. The speech at Rice University took 17 minutes and 48 seconds. If Kennedy can pitch his idea for a moon landing in under 18 minutes, then it’s plenty of time for you to pitch your service, product, or initiative.
I like to make communication simple and there are times when we don’t need to overthink things. For example, I took my family to Las Vegas this summer where we watched the Beatles LOVE show at The Mirage. A person sitting next to me asked, “Do you know how long the show lasts?”
“It’ll be 90 minutes. The show will start at 7:00 and end right at 8:30,” I responded confidently.
I didn’t have any hard data to support my response, but I had plenty of evidence to confidently express an opinion. In my early journalism career I worked as a television anchor in Reno, Nevada. Casino owners learned long ago that 90 minutes is the idea length of a show. It’s long enough for patrons to feel as though they got their dollar’s worth and short enough to get them back on the casino floor where the real money is made. Today nearly every show is 90 minutes. Whether you decide see David Copperfield, Cirque Du Soleil, or Penn & Teller you’ll only be in the theater for 90 minutes. Experiments with longer shows often fail.
Don’t experiment with your new business pitch. Keep your presentation to 18 minutes or less and let your audience decide how much further they want to take it. They may ask you questions for the next thirty minutes, or they may request a follow-up meeting with a larger group of decision makers. Either way, you’ll have given them enough content to make an informed decision without putting them to sleep.
Carmine Gallo is the communication coach for the world’s most admired brands, a popular keynote speaker, and author of several bestselling books including The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, The Apple Experience, and his latest Talk Like TED: The 9 Public Speaking Secrets Of The World’s Top Minds (named one of Amazon’s 20 best
