Hostage to performance

It's an all-too common predicament: an audience is held hostage by a series of presentations with the speakers all talking well beyond their allotted time.

That's why I approached the last meeting of the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group (CDPUG) with trepidation, not so much because I was one of the people presenting, but because I was No. 11 out of 14. We were to talk about our interests and/or capabilities. The more long winded the early speakers were the more winded the audience would be by the time it was my turn.

Such was not the case, however. Everyone remained alert and responsive to the last because all 14 presenters finished on time -- they had to. To be on the program you were required to prepare 20 slides, each appearing on screen for exactly 15 seconds. When the last slide was done so were you.

The auto-advancing slides serve as prompts and help you keep track of your progress. They also provide all of the incentive anyone should need to prepare.

The CDPUG meeting was inspired by the Ignite movement. Ignite events are taking place in 100 cities across the nation and the world according to the website where you'll also find the motto, enlighten us, but make it quick.