Classroom

Presentation Timer

Time student presentations

Settings

1 min30 min
Sound Alerts
5:00

💡 Tips for Teachers

  • • Set the timer before the student begins their presentation
  • • Use the warning alert to give students a heads-up to wrap up
  • • Display the timer on a projector so students can see their time
  • • Pause if there are questions or technical difficulties

About Presentation Timer

Time a talk with clear warnings as the limit approaches, so a speaker knows to wrap up without being interrupted from the floor.

Overrunning is rarely deliberate. Speakers lose track because they are concentrating on delivery, which is exactly why an external, visible signal works better than asking people to watch a clock.

How to use it

  1. 1Set the talk length and any warning points you want.
  2. 2Start the timer as the speaker begins.
  3. 3Position the display where the speaker can see it and the audience cannot.

Keeping talks to time

  • Rehearse against a timer. Almost everyone runs longer live than in rehearsal, so a talk that exactly fills the slot in practice will overrun on the day.
  • Plan roughly one slide per minute as a starting estimate, then adjust from actual rehearsal.
  • Mark a point in your notes you should have reached at the halfway signal, so you can adjust while there is still time.
  • Decide in advance what to cut. Under time pressure, speakers cut the conclusion, which is usually the most valuable part.
  • Give warnings at intervals rather than only at the end, so the speaker can adjust gradually instead of stopping abruptly.

Frequently asked questions

How many slides for a twenty-minute talk?

Roughly twenty as a starting point, at about a minute each, but rehearsal is the only reliable guide. Slide-heavy technical talks often need fewer slides and more time on each.

Where should the timer be placed?

Where the speaker can see it without turning away from the audience, and where the audience cannot, since a visible countdown draws attention away from the talk.

Why do speakers overrun?

Because delivering live takes longer than rehearsing, and speakers concentrating on their material lose track of time. Interval warnings let them adjust before the end rather than being stopped.