Lightning Talk
Encyclopedia
A Lightning Talk is a short presentation
given at a conference
or similar forum. Unlike other presentations, lightning talks last only a few minutes and several will usually be delivered in a single period by different speakers.
conference in 1997, where they were simply called short talks. The term "lightning talk" was first coined by Mark Jason Dominus
for a similar session at the YAPC 19100 Conference
(Yet Another Perl
Conference) in June 2000 and gradually spread to other technical conferences.
Formats vary between venues. Most conferences will assign a speaking slot (30 to 90 minutes) to them and arrange several talks one after the other during the session.
The length of talks are usually between 1 and 10 minutes with a 5 minute limit being common. In order to allow rapid changes between speakers, slides
may either be discouraged or a single computer running a Presentation program
is used by all speakers.
Presentation
Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations...
given at a conference
Academic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
or similar forum. Unlike other presentations, lightning talks last only a few minutes and several will usually be delivered in a single period by different speakers.
History and format
Lightning Talks may have originated at the PythonPython (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
conference in 1997, where they were simply called short talks. The term "lightning talk" was first coined by Mark Jason Dominus
Mark Jason Dominus
Mark•Jason Dominus is one of the founders of Kibology and a leading Perl programmer. He was the managing editor of and was a columnist for The Perl Journal for several years. Mark's other Perl-related articles have appeared in magazines such as Wired and IEEE Software...
for a similar session at the YAPC 19100 Conference
Yet Another Perl Conference
Yet Another Perl Conference, usually given as the abbreviation YAPC, is a series of conferences discussing the Perl computer programming language, usually organised under the auspices of The Perl Foundation and Yet Another Society, a "non-profit corporation for the advancement of collaborative...
(Yet Another Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
Conference) in June 2000 and gradually spread to other technical conferences.
Formats vary between venues. Most conferences will assign a speaking slot (30 to 90 minutes) to them and arrange several talks one after the other during the session.
The length of talks are usually between 1 and 10 minutes with a 5 minute limit being common. In order to allow rapid changes between speakers, slides
Slideshow
A slide show is a display of a series of chosen information or pictures, done for artistic or instructional purposes. Slide shows are conducted by a presenter using an apparatus, such as a carousel slide projector, an overhead projector or in more recent years, a computer running presentation...
may either be discouraged or a single computer running a Presentation program
Presentation program
A presentation program is a computer software package used to display information, normally in the form of a slide show...
is used by all speakers.
See also
- Pecha KuchaPecha KuchaPecha Kucha is a presentation methodology in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each, usually seen in a multiple-speaker event called a Pecha Kucha Night ....
— A similar presentation format. - IgniteIgnite (event)Ignite is a global event, organized by volunteers, where participants are given five minutes to speak about their ideas and personal or professional passions, accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, and slides are automatically advanced. The Ignite format is similar to...
- a similar presentation format