Asked by Maroon5

Why are TEDtalks limited to 18 minutes?
A. to encourage more speakers to participate
B. because research shows people can't concentrate longer than that
C. to conform to broadcasting slots on TV and radio shows
D. to make them less expensive to produce

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Correct answer: B (with a nuance).

TED limits talks to 18 minutes because that length is the “sweet spot” — short enough to hold an audience’s attention yet long enough to develop a meaningful idea. It’s a practical rule of craft rather than a hard scientific finding about attention spans, and it isn’t primarily about TV slots, cost, or simply fitting more speakers.