You’ve been selected to give a CARTTalk. Congrats! You’re doing great so far. Now what? Over the years we’ve come up with a few dos and don’ts on how to give a great talk. Though these steps are in no way comprehensive, they contain some guiding principles that have been known to work.

We appreciate that you put a great deal of time and effort into crafting your company’s message. We get it. We know that. But crafting, memorizing, and delivering at an Innovation Program CARTTalk is drastically different from giving any other company pitch you’ve ever given, so get ready & let’s have some fun!

As you start working on your presentation, we’ll give you the feedback from the host about your application and why you were accepted. We also will develop you as a speaker to make sure you’re able to deliver the mosts powerful presentation possible.

1 | The CARTTalk Form

What is a CARTTalk? An Innovation Program CARTTalk is a showcase for you to present your company in about 15 minutes. There are 10 minutes to present and 5 minutes for Q&A. It sounds short, but don’t worry. Every solution that has joined us does it with plenty of time. This is like the trailer to a movie — if we can’t support the executives understanding what you do and how you do it in 10 minutes, a deeper dive won’t help. Of course, program materials support the executives to have your contact information and application details during the presentation as well.

2 | Why 15 minutes?

It works! This short talk model works, since it only demands the audience's attention for a short period of time, decreasing the chance of minds wandering or daydreaming about lunch. In fact, some of our greatest Innovation Program talks have been as short as 5 minutes long!

3 | Can I go over 15 minutes?

No -- it wouldn't be an Innovation Program CARTTalk. The time limit is part of what makes CARTTalks work. And remember: Shorter talks are not lesser talks. It may only take 5 minutes to make your point unforgettably.