Prize giving ceremonies can be tedious affairs, especially for those who have not been nominated as a prize winner. An eminent person is usually invited to give a key note speech. Before processing onto a stage in academic garb the staff members engage traditionally in a sweep stake. They bet on how long the keynote speakers delivery will be.
At this particular event bets usually range between fifteen and twenty five minutes and some seconds. The circumstances must be taken into account. A keynote speaker is faced with the challenge of making some witty and a few serious remark to a captive audience of parents and students.
Some are entranced because they or their offspring have won a prize, but the majority are rueful because they have not. The orator must find a way between saying something worthy of a report in the local newspaper and the brevity longed for by those waiting to go on holiday. In other contexts the demands of the circumstances may be different. He needs about twenty minutes to satisfy both demands.
At an academic conference there will often be many world experts on a topic such as ichthyology but the theme of the conference might be quite arcane, summing up a current issue that concerns delegates. In this context the speaker will have an audience who should have extended concentration spans, especially when listening to words that touch on essential developments in their field. Most will expect a measured speech of longer than twenty minutes but less than an hour.
Politicians often have to deliver important speeches at rallies. In some areas the audience might be made of of ignorant conscripts dragooned out of the bush to demonstrate a show of support for a dictator. In other cases they may be party faithful in a genuine democracy. The speaker in either case might wish to stir emotion rather than rational thought.
The audience wait for certain oratorical signs such as an increase in pace and pitch, followed by a slogan. Then they clap enthusiastically. In these circumstances a speeches may endure for hours before the inevitable standing ovation that concludes it. President Muammar Gadaffi, once one of the world’s longest speech makers, was eventually shot, but not before he had delivered a speech reportedly eight hours long.
There are various types of speech that are distinct from keynote addresses. However, most public speaking has been influenced by televisions, as have games and other activities. Speakers may now review their performances and adapt performances accordingly. In light of the discovery that the average television audience has an attention span of ten minutes, many speakers realize that they must alternate serious points with jokes and variations in tone and pitch so that audiences do not begin to hate them and their speech idiosyncrasies.
Snide comments about a key note speech should not disguise its importance as a social and intellectual event. The task of the speaker is summary. That is an intellectual task of the highest order. It means that critically important points should be concisely delineated. A few witty comments may spice up the fare, bit distractions and windy forays should be avoided. Once the speaker has opened the door to further discussion he should sit down in advance of his allotted time running out.