How to rehearse a conference talk (10, 15 or 20 minutes)

Size the talk to the slot, not to the material

The most common conference problem is not nerves, it is running long. Before you rehearse anything, find out what your slot includes. Some programmes count questions and the speaker changeover inside the slot; some don't. If the call for speakers or the programme doesn't say, ask the session chair.

A rough guide, at a typical pace of about 130 words per minute:

If you write a script, paste it into the talk length calculator to see the speaking time and the time per slide. If you don't write one, your timed rehearsals will tell you the same thing.

Rehearsal 1: the talk-through

Put the slides up and talk through them out loud, without worrying about time. You are looking for gaps: a slide you can't explain in a sentence, a jump in logic, a result that needs one more line of context. Fix the slides and the story now, before you spend effort polishing delivery.

Rehearsal 2: timed runs with checkpoints

• Run the whole talk with a timer. No stopping to fix things; note them and carry on.
• Write down checkpoint times. For a 15-minute slot, for example: introduction done by 2:00, methods by 6:00, results by 10:00. On the day, one glance at the clock tells you whether you are on track.
• Make a cut list. Mark two sections you could drop without breaking the story, such as a second example or a methods detail. If you are behind at a checkpoint, skip one and move on.
• Repeat until two runs in a row land inside your planned time. Talks usually run longer in front of people than alone, so take any spare time as margin.

Rehearsal 3: a real listener

Give the talk to a colleague, your lab or a reading group. Ask them for the three questions they would ask, and write short answers to each. Include the one you are hoping nobody asks, such as how your work differs from a well-known paper. Questions are part of the slot, so rehearse them like part of the talk.

Rehearse the setup, not just the words

• Whose laptop? Many conferences run every talk from a shared presentation laptop. Bring your deck as PDF as well as PowerPoint, and expect that presenter view and your speaker notes may not be available there.
• Clicker and microphone. Practise at least once standing, with something in your hand, away from the keyboard.
• Hybrid or remote sessions. Practise sharing a single window rather than your whole screen, so your notes stay private.

On the day

Sit in the session before yours if you can, check your file opens on the room machine, and agree with the chair how they will signal time. If you are running long, use your cut list. Speaking faster to fit everything in usually loses the room and still runs over.

Rehearse your conference talk with Aitho

Import your deck as PDF or PowerPoint, then paste your script or write it in your own words. On Pro and Presenter Pro, Draft with AI gives you a first draft from your slides to edit. When you rehearse out loud, the script follows your voice and each slide advances when you reach its words, so your timed runs feel like the real talk without a clicker in your hand. If you pause, the script waits; if you go off script, it catches up when your words return. See rehearse out loud and get a script.

If the organisers are happy for you to present with it, it also works on the day. On the room's presentation laptop, open aitho.app/cast in a browser with internet and enter your talk's 6-digit code: the room sees your slides while your script stays on your phone or laptop (present in a room). For a hybrid session, share the Audience Stage window in Zoom, Teams or Meet (present on a call).

Questions

How many slides should a 15-minute conference talk have?

There is no fixed number. About one slide per minute is a common starting point, but a slide you explain for three minutes and a slide you show for ten seconds both count as one. Time your rehearsals instead of counting slides.

How many times should I rehearse a conference talk?

At least three full runs out loud with a timer, plus one in front of a listener. Keep going until two runs in a row finish inside your planned time.

Should I memorise my conference talk?

Memorise the first minute and the last minute. For the middle, know the order of your points and let the slides prompt you; a talk recited word for word tends to sound flat and is hard to recover if you lose a line.

What should I do if I am running out of time during the talk?

Use your cut list: skip a section you marked in rehearsal and go to your conclusion. Speaking faster to fit everything in usually loses the audience and still runs over.