#never had to interview never had to sell myself never had to compile a powerpoint that determines so much before

[pochapal]

a little over half a day to go. everyone has to be extra niceys to me for the next 24 hours or else.

[thatsnotpurple-blog]

The Art of Lecturing

This evening I went to a free philosophy lecture, open to the public, which I’d been looking forward to for about a week. It was a topic I was interested in and I’d been missing the intellectual stimulation of my uni days for a long time. I walked in with an open mind and an open notebook. I walked out with a bored brain and a page of rose sketches in preparation for a friend’s wedding gift. What went wrong?

Well on the one hand I’d carelessly forgotten the many hours I spent bored to tears at uni. Thinking back I realised that was more to do with the lecturers themselves than the subject matter. Walking to the train station I couldn’t help but pick apart just what it was that had made this philosophy lecture such a disaster.

Remember the old phrase ‘Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach’? Well it couldn’t be further from the truth. There is an absolute art to being able to engage someone and get them thinking. Many of my uni lecturers were experts in their fields but clearly had very little idea how to reach and inspire their pupils.

Speaking as a trained teacher, performer and perhaps most importantly a former student, I’ve compiled a list of the things which I feel are essential to the successful delivery of any kind of lecture. Some may sound incredibly obvious but you’d be amazed how many people get them wrong.

 1.       Make sure your title links with your subject matter– If the title of a lecture and the subject matter don’t match up you’re going to have a very confused or very annoyed audience. People came because they were interested in the topic. So give them what they came for! If you’re not sure what the title means, find out from those who set it. If you’re coming up with the title yourself, run it by a few people who understand your subject matter and see if they agree that it’s clear.

2.       Know your stuff – it should go without saying but if you’re not confident that you know what you’re talking about (well enough to answer questions) then you probably aren’t ready to be teaching it to others.

3.       Know your audience – In some cases you’ll have students who’ve been studying your topic for a long period of time, so you can make references to theories or people with a certain amount of confidence. However, in other cases (particularly when things are open to the public) you have no idea what specialist knowledge your audience may or may not have. DON’T ASSUME THEY’RE EXPERTS!  Just because YOU spent the last few years researching this topic and everyone connected with it, doesn’t mean they have. Frequently throwing in random references to things you never explain is a sure fire way to lose their attention. Stick to the important bits, elaborate enough that it makes sense to the layman and leave all the academic referencing to a hand out sheet for those who are interested in further reading.

4.       Have a clear structure – Your lecture should have a form, just like an essay or a book or even a news article does. An introduction, content and a conclusion. The end shouldn’t suddenly creep up on your audience, it should tie together the points you’ve been making for the past 50 minutes.

5.       Practice, practice, practice – standing up in front of strangers (or anyone for that matter) isn’t easy. You’re exposing yourself to judgement and ridicule. Even if you’re the world’s foremost expert on a topic you can still get distracted and nervous and lose your place. I’ve had far too many lecturers over the years who simply stood at the front of the room and read their entire lecture word for word. Usually in an incredibly monotonous voice. What a total waste of my time. You could have published it online and saved me the train fare. Write NOTES not sentences, in an order that flows logically and then practice it until you’re comfortable with your ability to recall the info you want to share. It’s like taking time to learn the lyrics to a song. Know your verses and know what order they belong in. Your notes will be there to support you at a glance rather than an awkward pause while you scrabble to find one sentence in a dense page. And by not tying yourself to your paper you allow your enthusiasm and personality to shine through and engage your audience. Don’t forget to practice in front of a friend or 3 to see how it feels with eyes on you.

6.       Avoid tangents – Your talk should not feel like a stream of consciousness. Stick to the relevant info. This is why having a clear form and practicing your content is essential.

7.       Body Language Matters – If you want your audience to trust that you know what you’re talking about they need to believe in you. Even if you’re a quivering mess inside your head you need to try not to show it in your body. Just like in an interview room you need to exude confidence and sell yourself. Standing tall and making brief eye contact with individuals are two very basic ways of achieving this. Personally I also prefer it when someone isn’t tied to their lectern and moves around the stage a bit allowing some (not too much!) gesticulation to emphasise their points. For some of you this thought may be a bit too terrifying. Don’t push it if it doesn’t feel right. But at the very least ensure your posture is good and you’re looking up as much as possible. Studies have even shown that good posture actually CREATES greater confidence in you so you’re helping yourself in multiple ways.

8.       Get them thinking – I know it’s a lecture but that doesn’t mean you can’t pose questions yourself, even if they’re rhetorical. Remember some of the principals of persuasive writing that you learnt in school English lessons. These can be very powerful tools of engagement in speeches as well.

9.       Use the power of the pause – Deliberately pause at key points. This is a particularly good idea after you’ve said something really interesting or posed a question. This gives your listeners time to really process what you’ve said thus furthering their engagement. As a bonus they have time to finish writing notes! A key thing to note here is that the pause will feel longer to you than it does to them. Ideally wait until the silence is uncomfortable for YOU and then it will have been just long enough for THEM.

10.   Cut yourself some slack – It doesn’t matter how great you are, there’s likely to be a few people in the crowd who leave, or are sitting on their phone or who even (heaven forbid!) fall asleep. Don’t take this personally. They may have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), or have a sick child at home or have been dragged there by a partner and it’s just not their sort of thing. An individual’s lack of engagement doesn’t necessarily relate directly to you. And even if it does, don’t worry about the 2 you aren’t reaching and focus on the 200 you are. Find the friendly, focussed faces in the room and use them to regain your confidence, because once you start to lose it, it can be difficult to keep yourself on track and your energy up. You can’t please all of the people all of the time, just do your best to reach the majority.

11.   Avoid death by PowerPoint – I’ve attended lectures which have loads of slides and I’ve attended those with nothing at all. PowerPoint can be a wonderful tool to support your lecture but it shouldn’t be the focus of it. The key word there is SUPPORT. Not everything you say needs a bullet point. If your students are focussing on copying word for word what you’ve written on the slide they’re not listening to what you’re saying next. They’re not idiots; they can take their own notes in their own way. Key words and theorists are worth putting up (especially if spelling is an issue) and of course diagrams and images can be valuable to help visual learners. Just know when slides are important and when they’re not. Don’t hide behind them.

12.   Leave time for Q&A – If appropriate, leaving time for a few questions has some benefits.

a. If you tell your audience you’ll be taking questions at the end they’ll be more likely to think of questions and make more notes. b. It’s a great way to find out how well your audience engaged and what specifically they engaged with. c. It offers a chance to clarify things at the end rather than people interrupting you during you’re talk.

13.   Film yourself – A scary notion I know but incredibly useful. Any sportsman, performer and sometimes educator, will tell you just how valuable it can be to watch yourself. We all do things we don’t realise we’re doing. When I was doing teaching rounds I filmed myself a couple of times. It was terribly uncomfortable watching myself teach because I’m very self critical, but I learnt a lot. I discovered that I nearly always favoured the left hand side of the classroom. This was valuable because whilst I was engaging that half of the room really well, I was losing the interest of the right hand side of the room. I’m now very careful to ensure I engage with everyone as evenly as possible. Remember: keep your criticism constructive and recognise the good things you’re doing and not just the things you could improve.

14.   Continue to Develop – While you’re still developing your public speaking skills be sure to assess yourself at the end of each lecture. What went well? What didn’t? What felt good and what can you improve? Even when you’re experienced it’s a good idea to go through this process every so often. We often do it mentally anyway but writing it down can encourage deeper thought and give you something more tangible to look at to help you prepare next time.

And there you have it. The 14 things I personally feel are the most important parts of being a good lecturer/public speaker. It may look like a lot to take on but you’d be surprised how simply it all comes together with a bit of practice. To simplify:

-          Ensure your title links to your subject

-          Know what you’re talking about and be prepared to answer questions

-          Keep support material (eg. slides) relevant and simple

-          Practice what you’re going to say until you don’t need to read it

-          Stand up tall and make eye contact

-          Assess yourself in various ways and remember to focus on the good things you’re doing as well as what you can improve.

And perhaps most important of all is to ENJOY the mental stimulation of the challenge of lecturing and the joy of knowing you’re changing the way others think.

Think I’ve missed something out? Add it in the comments below.