One of my instructors pointed out that only one step in a syncopation has to be danced faster than the others. In other words, if the count is 1-2-&-3, only the & "happens" faster than normal. I'm sure some people with more technical expertise than me will disagree. And it seems that the 3 has to be danced as soon after the & as the & is danced after the 2. But you get a full beat to "finish" the 3. In any case, my instructor had to work to get me to slow down in dancing, for example, a Chassé from PP. I tended to rush the 2-& steps. "You have more time than you think" is something I heard many times.