Keeping time

Today, with two days left of the 4th FEBS Advanced Lecture Course on Matrix Pathobiology, Signaling and Molecular Targets, we had a speaker go over time in a big way. This was despite excellent and firm chairing by Renato Iozzo – he had even brought a referee’s whistle, as we didn’t have a bell. I sympathise with Renato, this happened to me a year ago, when I chaired a session at the proteoglycan Gordon conference.
Why don’t PIs keep to time when they give a talk? OK, in this community, drilled by Gordon Conferences, many do. But a few do not. Even the most polite yet very firm session chair has trouble kicking people off who go on and on. PIs generally make sure their students and posdocs practice their talks, so why don’t they? Do you really have to select 50 slides for a 20 min slot – it obviously doesn’t add up. In any event, you can set up a timer on the computer, or, shock horror, look at your watch.
Going over time annoys everyone: the audience, the session chair, the organisers and the speakers waiting their turn.
Don’t do it. Ever. Be aware of what you want to say and of the passage of time. Have some pride in your performance and remember less is always more. You can generally say it in 5 minutes, so do so.