Larry’s Laws of Lecturing —

~Explained and Exemplified~

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I. Thou shall not “lecture.”

Lecture, verb <from the Latin, legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus> “read”

In early universities the “master” read from his notes, while the eager pupils devoured every word and transcribed “the message.”

Get with the times: don’t read from your notes!

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Rather,

Do tell a story: have a beginning, middle, and ending.

Begin by placing today’s lecture in the context of material in previous class.

Provide a brief outline or topical headers for subsections to guide students.

Do not close abruptly by virtue of running out of time: offer a brief summary and/or indicate how this lecture connects to next class.

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II. Thou shall be prepared.

Do not try to “wing it” cold unless the topic is very familiar to you; you have given a similar lecture before; and necessity requires it.

Predetermine which material is essential (must cover well); important (must at least define and make reference to); and desirable (can be left out if needed).

Have any hard-to-remember supporting information readily at hand.

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The audience will know if you are ill-prepared, appear to lack confidence in what you are saying, or lack organization.

This is a fatal error in giving a lecture to a large class!

The repercussions from an ill-prepared lecture do not end with the class period.

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III. Remember: it’s not about you. A lecture is a communication tool; the listener

must be able to comprehend the message. Enunciate clearly! Speak to be heard (with or without

amplification). Ask audience if you can be heard clearly.

Modulate your tone of voice appropriately. Match pace of delivery to subject and

audience—even at the sacrifice of “covering” stuff.

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IV. Thou shall not be boring.IV(a). You will fail to keep this law.IV(b). Try anyway. Every student has a different lower level of

engagement. Attention spans have been getting shorter (<

10 minutes). Passivity nurtures boredom. Be proactive…

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DO:

◊ Maintain eye contact as much as possible.

◊ Adjust pace and intensity of lecture in response to body language of students.

◊ Interrupt the presentation to ask and answer questions. These can require small group work and feed back.

◊ Use humor as appropriate—lectures can be entertaining, without being

entertainment.

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DO:

◊ Encourage/require students to take some notes: active listening and writing

encourages learning.

◊ Provide copies/handouts of intricate drawings or data that students cannot copy easily.

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V. Thou shall not confuse teaching content with techniques and tools. While “the medium may be the message” in

some schools of thought, techniques and tools for delivery of the lecture should be at the service of the content—making it easier to grasp the meaning of the message.

Pretty & fancy slides are no substitute for content.

Unreadable chalkboard work or slides can vitiate a brilliant concept.

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DO:

◊ Make sure you know how to use a piece of technology before incorporating it into lecture.

◊ If the tool fails to work, be able to go on without it. (Have a back-up plan.)

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VI. Remember thou art not perfect. Expect to make mistakes. Admit them. Learn from them. Get over it.