TOA, Terrans, Huge galaxy, 7 opponents and all the minor races.
Difficulty doesn't matter: higher the challenge, shorter the playtime.
Never build any starship (and by consequence no space stations): waste of resource - set the military to 0, two starting planets are good enough.
Prioritize your research toward diplomacy and influence and carve your way to diplomatic/economic egemony.
When you own 3 quarter of the galaxy choose which victory you want to see this time (Nota Bene: if you want to go for a Conquest Victory you will need now to start build some ships but it is just for to see the different ending).
In suicidal you can win in one evening (5/6Hrs), lower the difficulty longer the time to win (they are quicker at colonize and then exchange planets to your technologies).
In all the planets that you get from your opponent via technology exchanges build and regularly upgrade at least one embassy: good as influence base.
If the planet is still virgin or almost virgin go for - factory, factory, embassy, farm, multimedia center - or the equivalent. Easier to make a governor to save some clicks. Then check the bonus to choose if the planet will be a research one, a production one (no ships is fine, no possible ships a little risky), or a money one.
When you are bored to death to win every time try some less efficent strategies.
P.S. it helps to contact as many opponents as quick as possible, accept bad tech exchanges, just do a lot of them. If someone really declare war on you (instead of giving you gifts as usually appen in the end-games) just pay him off and go on.
P.P.S. Technological victory is so banally simple that the game feels brocken, best to skip it.