Lightning talk script
This page is for advocates who have five minutes on a stage, at a meetup or in a team meeting. It gives six slides, a script you can read or adapt, the timing, and the source of every sentence. Five minutes is about 650 spoken words; the script below has fewer, so you can breathe.
Contents
The slides
| # | Title | On the slide | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exponential | The name, your name, "I'm a volunteer advocate" | 0:00 |
| 2 | What it is | "PHP CMS + framework. Your own content types. Shop, multisite, many languages." | 0:20 |
| 3 | Still here | "Code since 1999. 15 releases since Jan 2024. A company and a nonprofit." | 1:10 |
| 4 | What is new | Velocity, Layouts, Exponential Intelligence (drafts only), help built in | 2:10 |
| 5 | Free, really | "Code: GNU GPL. Docs: GNU FDL. Every pull request is merged." | 3:30 |
| 6 | Try it | ./console exp:install --apply and the community links | 4:20 |
Accessibility of the slides: Accessible slides and visuals.
The script
Slide 1 (0:00). "Hi, I'm <name>. I use Exponential for <your use>. I'm not paid by anyone to say this; I just like it. Five minutes, here we go."
Slide 2 (0:20). "Exponential is a PHP application framework with a full content management system. Its best feature is the content model: you define your own content types, an article, a product, an event, in the administration, without code. It comes with a shop, it serves several sites from one installation, and it speaks many languages, including right to left."
Slide 3 (1:10). "Some of you know this code under an older name. Its original vendor discontinued it after almost eighteen years. The code is free, so it carried on: 7x took over leadership in 2023, and since January 2024 there have been fifteen 6.0.x releases. Since this year a nonprofit, the Exponential Foundation, operates the project."
Slide 4 (2:10). "What's new in the current line? Velocity, a PHP web server that keeps the application loaded. Exponential Layouts, a visual page builder for editors. Exponential Intelligence, a writing assistant that only writes drafts and never publishes on its own. And the help: the documentation is inside the administration, with a help button on every page."
Slide 5 (3:30). "It's free software: the code under the GPL, the documentation under the GNU Free Documentation License. And the project has a rule I love: every pull request is merged, under the contributor's name."
Slide 6 (4:20). "Try it: one command installs a complete site on SQLite, no database server. Questions: the forums on share.exponential.earth and the Telegram chat. Thank you!"
Variants
| Audience | Change slide 4 to | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Developers | "Composer, Git clones with full history, RAD tools that write an extension in minutes, a REST API." | Talking points for developers |
| Editors | "Drafts, versions, preview at phone width, the layouts editor, help on every screen." | Talking points for editors |
| Administrators | "Six databases, many operating systems, an audit trail, a hardening guide." | Talking points for administrators |
| Accessibility | "Keyboard, landmarks, contrast tests, dark mode, right to left." | Talking points: accessibility |
Sources behind the script
| Sentence | Source |
|---|---|
| Framework, content model, shop, multisite, languages | Exponential 6 |
| Discontinued after almost eighteen years | same |
| 7x took over in 2023; fifteen releases since January 2024 | Who is 7x? |
| The Foundation operates the project | The Foundation and 7x |
| Velocity, Layouts, Exponential Intelligence | The products one by one |
| Help in the administration | The help system |
| GPL, GFDL | Open source and licensing |
| Every pull request is merged | How the project grows |
| One command, SQLite | Install in one command |
Rehearsal checklist
[ ] Read the script aloud three times, timed: under 5:00
[ ] Replaced <name> and <your use>; disclosure line kept
[ ] Checked every source once this week (numbers change with releases)
[ ] Slides: large text, high contrast, no text in images without alt text
[ ] The last slide stays on screen during questions
[ ] A backup: slides as PDF on a USB stick and in your e-mailRelated pages
- Twenty-minute talk slide outline
- The story of Exponential in two minutes
- Presenting at a user group or class
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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