Timing and bad timing

When people groan that they have been to a dreadful talk, the most common reason they give for their misery is, ‘he went on and on, and on’. A poorly presented subject can be suffered, for the sake of the topic itself, if it keeps to time. But a talk which is both boring, and drones on for endless minutes after the clock shows that the finishing time is passed, is a torture. Even an interesting, well presented, talk which goes on for too long is remembered with little pleasure.