20:20 Lightning Talks

20:20 lightning talks are short presentations designed to be a fun, interesting and compact way for many ideas to be communicated in a short space of time.

The 20:20 format encourages highly focused, fast-moving presentations, and helps to keep audience attention riveted on each presentation, to keep things a bit unpredictable and surprising, and to keep presentations “fat free” without any lulls.

Maybe you have a new idea you’d like to try out, or a new project you’re starting. A lightning talk is a great way to tell others about it without the burden of a full presentation and paper!

Book your slot

To get involved, send your details and proposed title to xtech-lightning@usefulinc.com. The lightning talk moderators (Mike Smith, Rob Lee and Deb Bassett) will let you know the full details.

With only 90 minutes to spare, the number of spots is limited, so get your submission in early. Any spots still available during the conference week will be advertised near the Reception Desk.

How it works

Rules for 20:20 micropresentations are simple: You present exactly 20 slides in all, showing and talking about each one for 20 seconds (for a total of 6 minutes and 40 seconds).

20:20 presentations work best when they have a creative and entertaining angle, rather than being strictly technical (or, heaven forbid, product pitches) — when they are kept casual, engaging, and fun while still getting a point across in a memorable way.

So put in some interesting images where appropriate and think about the transitions between each slides — dropping in some little surprises here and there.

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If you’re not sure about the 20:20 format, then you can easily create one from your del.icio.us feed using Salted’s 20:20 generator. It should give you an idea of the kind of pace we’re looking for.