Thanks for additional resources. I think numbers you point show something I feel unconsciously. When you’ve written about ratio of preparation to delivery I quickly counted how much time I’d spent for my last show. It took me more than 5 hours just to rehearse the presentation. And I don’t count time spent for preparing ppt. And I can say the subject was familiar for me.

Although I wouldn’t spend whole week for typical presentation – that’s huge overkill in most cases – I can think about audiences which would cause as big effort to present for them.

Excellent, succinct post. Thank you for pointing out the deficiency in my post. I’m an absolute DEMON for assiduous rehearsal and have covered this elsewhere in posts on this topic. I should have referenced this: http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com/2006/08/public-squeaking.html in my recent rant. I’ll amend immediately.

You should also check out anything you can find online about Presentation Aikido by Damian Conway. He recommends a 10:1 ratio of prep to delivery, twice that if the topic is tricky. I have worked with clients who will routinely spend 40+ hours preparing for an AGM, conference call or guidance statement.