Attention span

"Formal speeches usually involve delivery of a written text to a passive audience. The speech is usually prepared ahead of time and focuses on what the speaker wants to say." Christine Loh 2003

That sounds familiar. So if we have to have formal speeches, what can we do about making them better?

Well one conference I attended on heritage interpretation in Aberdeen was notable for a few things, in particular that the papers to be presented were already collected and bound in book form and were handed out with the delegate packs. If that can be done, then how about making the speeches available on the conference website before it starts. And why not add a bit of competition too? Parallel speeches, where the audience can vote with their feet.

In the same paper Christine refers to research on attention spans, suggetsing that 15 minutes should be the maximum length of any speech. So let's aim for 10 minutes, and be strict with it. An assertive chair is useful in this respect.

Making those speeches better is also within the realms of possibility. Cliff Atkinson's book Beyond Bullets is but one example of ways to do it better.

And prizes for the best ones, with voting asking for reasons and those reasons made available to speakers past present and future.

And we don't have to have them all in one go do we? Speech, workshops, discussion groups, speech, workshops etc.

So that's on the assumption we have to have formal speeches of course. Can we deal with speeches or the status role that speeches play
in a different way?