# You have to do a 45 minute presentation with no preparation right now. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 28, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521 "2017-09-28T14:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/101 "2018-01-06T01:37:16Z")
I probably couldn’t do the advanced class anymore, but if I had the software and a big screen, I could teach the basics of desktop publishing with Adobe InDesign. Used to teach that as part of my job. I’m most proud of the first 20 minutes or so, when I encapsulate the history printing from Gutenberg through to Aldus PageMaker. People used to end up actually knowing stuff about Aldus Manutius and the Venitian printing scene of the 1490s. I could talk for a while on any of a number of entertainment franchises. Not sure which would be most likely to be entertaining for three-quarters of an hour. Just to not pick something others have mentioned, how about ‘The Robot-Foundation Universe of Isaac Asimov’? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/102 "2018-01-06T01:46:35Z")
I’m going to assume that I have access to multimedia devices. Specifically, an internet-connected computer and monitor. I log into my Netflix account and spend the next 45 minutes screening Spongebob episodes. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/103 "2018-01-06T16:42:25Z")
Either: The history of popular music from about 1900 on. This is the historical subject I know the most about without research, of course much too vast to fit into 45 minutes, but a basic run down should be possible. Or: The basic workings of/with a computer. I used to teach basic computer courses about 15 years ago, and the basics haven’t changed since then, so I think I could still pull it off. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/104 "2018-01-06T18:13:31Z")
Machine learning and electrical engineering ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/105 "2018-01-07T03:09:48Z")
This is absolutely my my idea of a good time. If it were a reality show, I’d apply. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/106 "2018-01-07T03:59:59Z")
I could talk about many topics in family and emergency medicine. Shock, trauma, ultrasound, reading X rays, fractures, stitching, abdominal pain, et cetera. I could also talk about weightlifting, sports medicine, nutrition, basic cooking, advanced cooking, mythology, modern history or politics, Mexico, old school Atari, basic or intermediate science or math, 80s and 90s pop culture, dogs or books. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/107 "2018-01-07T13:17:24Z")
**snoe** , from your post early in this thread, you’re into some cool stuff that I’m a little familiar with but would enjoy learning more about! (I actually once lived with a Mexican forest frontier family with partly Afro roots — Tabasco state, originally). To the OP: Not counting anything I teach or have taught, I’d maybe go with “Geography of the New York Metroplolitan Area,” or else “How the Apollo Astronauts Reached the Moon,” or perhaps “Comparing John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Approaches to Composition.” There are also plenty of language (linguistics, etymologies…) lectures I could probably pull off — regurgitating some Steven Pinker or John McWhorter — but, though this isn’t my professional speciality, it would likely overlap a little with something I have taught, so let’s not count this. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/108 "2018-01-08T15:05:32Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Crapping my pants? The methods and haste thereof? Would this be a spoken presentation or more of a practical demonstration? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/109 "2018-01-08T15:43:16Z")
My area of expertise. I could do 45 minutes on Cinematography standing on my head. I can also do 2 hours on it. That’s without the set of video clips I normally use. Also, I could probably do 45 minutes on a few other topics, but the “facts” might need a bit of fact-checking. Dad worked for the N.R.C. back in the day. I could do 45 minutes on real opposed to mistaken fears regarding radiation exposure and how to manage a day to day existence and not be trapped by bad science in this regard. Also, a comparison/ contrast between the Old Testament and New Testament God. 45 minutes would fly by. 😃 Easy peasey. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/110 "2018-01-08T15:45:44Z")
> [@susan](#): > > This is absolutely my my idea of a good time. If it were a reality show, I’d apply. That’s actually a fascinating pitch idea. But instead of 45 minutes, you have to basically created a TED Talk on the spot. You cannot write it out or memorize it. You submit 3 topics in advance, and randomly, 4 audience members are chosen. They walk up one at a time as chosen, are told which topic the judges have picked from the card they filled out, and BANG the clock starts. They have to make a cogent presentation on the fly. Could be a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/111 "2018-01-08T15:48:30Z")
“How to sit in silence for 45 minutes, a full demonstration.” ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/112 "2018-01-08T15:56:51Z")
There’s always one… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/113 "2018-01-09T08:16:55Z")
Basic introduction to Calculus. Basically, my first lecture of each new school year. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/114 "2018-01-09T10:42:33Z")
My topic is probably: Foraging and why it’s good to look back at the way people used to live But depending on the audience, I could also do: [ul] [li]How to generate original ideas[/li][li]How organisational structures are vital to the growth of medium-sized businesses[/li][li]How to run a project[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/115 "2018-01-09T11:10:50Z")
- Metrology (the science of measurements, standards, and calibration) - The science of temperature standards, temperature measurements, and temperature sensors ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/116 "2018-01-09T18:52:09Z")
US stock market microstructure and order routing ---
**Author:** ![pnschofield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@pnschofield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pnschofield)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/117 "2018-01-09T19:39:34Z")
How to play electric bass Basic music theory C# Domain-Driven Design ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/118 "2018-01-12T01:25:56Z")
Gathering around, Kids, we’re going to learned about designing and online course in blackboard or moodle. Not creating or updating one (we’d need a lot more time than that) but we can at least got over how to conceptualize a course and the activity choices at your disposal. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/119 "2018-01-12T01:43:57Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > What topic do you pick? Either goal setting or spontaneous self defense. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521/120 "2018-01-12T01:49:11Z")
Self publishing tips, or pen and paper roleplaying games. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-to-do-a-45-minute-presentation-with-no-preparation-right-now/797521.md?page=7)