The 18 minute timer is synonymous with TED Talks — TED's official speaker time limit is 18 minutes, a duration that TED curator Chris Anderson describes as "long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people's attention." Use Polytimer's 18-minute countdown to practise and time your talk, pitch, or classroom presentation before going live.
Enable Repeat to automatically restart the countdown — perfect for interval training or back-to-back sessions. Enable End Time to see the exact clock time your timer will finish.
Click the Countdown tab, type 18 in the minutes field, then press play or Space. The alarm sounds when 18 minutes are up.
TED curator Chris Anderson chose 18 minutes because it is long enough to develop a serious idea with nuance, yet short enough to hold an audience's full attention. Neuroscience research also suggests natural attention wanes around 20 minutes — placing a hard stop at 18 forces speakers to ruthlessly edit their content for maximum impact.
Start the timer when you begin your talk. Use the End Time toggle to see the exact clock time you need to finish — ideal when fitting into a scheduled slot. Fullscreen mode displays a large countdown visible from across a room during group rehearsals.
Yes. Enable the Repeat toggle before pressing play. After each 18-minute run the timer restarts automatically so you can go straight into the next practice attempt.