How to Change the World in Just Four Minutes

Can you really change the world in just four minutes? Can anyone?

I’m going to tell you a story about a group of people who set out to do just that, how they did it, and how you can too.

One hundred years ago, America went to war in Europe to make the world safe for democracy. In a democracy, war requires not just the consent of the people, but their active participation and support. The US created the Office of Public Information and put it in the hands of George Creel, a newspaper editor from Mississippi. Creel recruited 75,000 volunteers to go out and speak to their communities, in theaters, churches and lodges. Their job was to sell war bonds, and their tool was the four minute speech.

Why four minutes? Because even then, attention spans were short, and if you could not get your point across in that time, additional time would simply create waste for both parties. Because the discipline of fitting your message into four minutes is a wonderful way to sharpen your thinking and clarify your expression. Because it’s roughly 600 words, or two double-spaced pages of type, and there’s a lot you can pack into that space.

So, how do you distill a complicated idea into just four minutes? Here are my top three suggestions, with a little help from George Creel himself:

• Be crystal clear about what you want your listeners to do, and why they should do it. They should know what is in it for them, and it doesn’t have to be—and in fact many shouldn’t be—just about practical or monetary gain. Some of the most influential and inspirational speeches tap into higher and more fundamental human motivations. People didn’t buy war bonds for their return; they bought war bonds to make the world safe for democracy.
• Structure your ideas logically. As Creel advised: “Divide your speech carefully into certain divisions, say 15 seconds for final appeal; 45 seconds to describe the bond; 15 seconds for opening words, etc., etc. Any plan is better than none, and it can be amended every day in the light of experience.” A three part structure is ideal for four minutes. 30 seconds for your opener, a minute a piece for each point, and 30 seconds to bring it home. Or make it a story, and chunk the four minutes into the situation, the conflict, and the resolution.
• Prepare carefully, rehearse often, and refine relentlessly. If you want your audience to care, you have to show that you cared enough to give them your absolute best. As Creel told his volunteers: “Let your friends know that you want ruthless criticism. If their criticism isn’t sound, you can reject it. If it is sound, wouldn’t you be foolish to reject it?” Ironically, it takes more time to prepare shorter speeches, but the exponential improvement in the quality and value of your presentations is well worth the effort.

I began this by asking if you can change the world in just four minutes. Every speech is about change, or else why deliver it? Unless you’re speaking to entertain, or to gratify your own ego, every speech or presentation should leave your audience better off at the end than they were at the beginning. If you can do that, you may not change the whole world, but you can change their world, even if only in some small way.

I urge you to take the four minute challenge.