A lengthy abstract is a brief discourse. If a one-hour presentation is equivalent to a paper, then a short talk is equivalent to a long abstract. It should convey without being distracted by unnecessary information. A fascinating lead paragraph is a brief lecture. The quality of the first paragraph will influence who reads on for a reporter. Short talks are common at conferences where time is limited and only important results can be presented. They are also useful for postdocs and students who have only been assigned a few pages to write. In fact, most academic papers begin as short talks. There are many ways to make your speech shorter. You can remove details that aren't essential to the main point or simply move them to the end. For example, you can leave out the introduction section when speaking from notes because the audience will understand what you're talking about. You can also shorten your speeches by focusing on the most important ideas instead of describing everything step by step. Finally, you can save time by writing your speech like a news article rather than explaining it like a lecture. Short presentations are common at scientific meetings where time is limited.