Doing lecture in front of a bunch of people, or more, is no joke. Imagine talking and teaching in front of people in a big auditorium. Even if you are provided with a microphone, a set of slides to aid you in your lecture. You are worried that you may forget the topic you are going to talk about due to stage fright. You are also very worried that your audiences, seating comfortably in their seats, may not pay attention and fall asleep. It seems you might as well talk to nobody at all.
But you can still avoid this scenario if you know what to do. Successful lecturers do not limit to those who are experts of a particular field; they may be bad at public speaking; or those who are outgoing; they may not seem as expert on the field at all. The key to be a successful lecturer is to communicate well the topic you are discussing to the audience. Planning and outlining your lecture is key to make an efficient lecture.
Most of the best lectures, are proven that lecturers invite their audience to think outside the box and conceptualize about a particular topic or issue. They just don’t limit their lecture into an informative speech. According to Professor David Kennedy of History, he relates that “a good lecture always offers a point of view and an entry into a field of study.”
Successful lecturers also have good intonation when they are speaking. When they are speaking, you get to notice they are speaking in a relaxed and conversational tone. They also don’t depend on their notes; they tend to do some ad-libs as well. They engage themselves rather enjoyably in the themes they are discussing. Their audiences are more likely to pay attention to them rather than those speakers who read their notes in monotonous voice.
Here are some helpful ways for you to refer to be a good lecturer:
To be confident about your upcoming lecture, thorough preparation is needed. The preparation part is the most hectic part, since you have to gather the information for your topic, prepare the materials you need, and practice your speech. If you’re informed way ahead of time you that you need to conduct a lecture, practice as much as you need to; especially if it’s your first time. However, if you’re given a small amount of time to do it, divide your time in preparing your lecture. You need to focus on the following:
You don’t need to be a charismatic showman to deliver a strong lecture; begin by refining your basic presentation skills.
You should encourage your students to ask questions, although instructors have different preferences or styles on how to handle them. Additionally, let your students know if they can interrupt with questions or let them save it for the end of the class. Here are some tips for encouraging, as well as responding to questions:
Make sure you take prerogative and involve your students by giving out lecture slides or notes. This will encourage student participation as well as create learning exercises for the whole class or audience to enjoy.
Successful lecturers are not simply those with the most expertise or the most outgoing personalities. Knowledge of the subject and comfort in public speaking are helpful, but a lecture is only successful if it communicates the material effectively to the listeners. Thoughtful planning is the key.
The topic of the lecture may be assigned or left to your discretion. Even when the topic is given in the syllabus, there still is latitude in terms of what angle you take and which aspects you choose to highlight. In order to narrow the scope of the topic, consider the following question: “What am I trying to accomplish?”
In other words, what should students know or be able to do at the end of your lecture? You need to be very specific in your answer to this question. Starting to prepare a lecture without a precise vision in mind can lead to all kinds of problems. Let your goal(s) guide you and help you discern what to include and what to leave aside.
Lectures are not about the slide presentations but the delivery of the speaker to keep not only the audience awake, but also informed and entertained. We hope the guide above will help you in creating a lecture outline for your future lecture engagements.