Ratio of preparation hours to presentation hours?

[kmholl]

Is there a teacher's guideline or standard that is applied for the number of hours given to prepare a presentation? I.e. I have heard 3 hours of prep for every 1 hour of presentation is a basic standard, but I don't know where that ratio came from. I work in an agency of billable hours percentage I must maintain, and I'm asked to provide presentations but not given a formula for the number of hours I can have to prepare. It would be helpful to have a standard guideline that I could provide to my employer that would be fair to both them and myself.

Thank you in advance for your answers

 

[Kevin]

I have found that I spend anywhere between 1-5 hours of preparation for every hour of presentation, which has an average of 3 hours. If I am very familiar with the material and the students have some time-consuming activity that day, then one hour would suffice. If I am very unfamiliar, then I have found that I can spend up to 5 hours.

I would say that an average of three hours to read the text (or texts) and take notes for a lecture is pretty reasonable.