A speaker timer for talks and events

Events run late one speaker at a time. A visible countdown keeps every slot honest, and it is kinder than waving from the back of the room.

Set the slot, start the countdown

Type the speaking slot: “15 min”, “20”, “45 min”. Press Return when the speaker starts. The countdown is running before they finish their first sentence.

Point a screen at the stage

Put the timer on a confidence monitor or a laptop facing the speaker, and take it full screen so it reads from the stage. The speaker glances at the number instead of doing math on a wall clock.

Try the free web timer on any laptop facing the stage. The Mac app adds full screen, count up, and the pinned modes.

Overtime, measured

Turn on count up after zero. When a speaker runs long, the timer counts up past zero, so both of you know exactly how far over they are. It settles the “just two more minutes” negotiation with a number.

Reset for the next speaker in seconds

Same slot length? Reset and start. Different slot? Type the new time and press Return. The changeover takes less time than the applause. If speakers present from the same Mac, the timer can stay pinned above their slides.

Conferences, meetups, lightning talks, panels: one readable countdown does more for the schedule than any amount of moderating.