Unsolicited Advice XI: How to Write a 5 Minute Talk

In the American astronomical calendar, early January looms large. Tis the season of the winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society (the AAS). Thousands of astronomers are currently gathering up their rain gear, preparing to descend on Seattle next week. A significant fraction of these thousands are currently preparing posters and talks for the meeting. Unfortunately, AAS presentations are almost entirely 5 minute talks, in contrast to the more typical 50 minute colloquia on which we've all cut our teeth. This short format presents a real challenge, and requires a very different approach. So, in CV's long running Unsolicited Advice series, I now give my basic guidelines for writing a short talk. 1. In a 5 minute talk, you can usually only teach people about one new thing. The key to framing the talk is to figure out that One New Thing, and then build the rest of the talk ...