how to deliver a successful lecture

Workshop: November 9, 2007 - Directed by, Dr. Batia Stolar

The Main:

[3 Parts] - Preperation - Audience (Who) - Delivery Style and Performance

These three factors are listed as such with dashes in between because as an educator or a lecturer or a presenter of some kind - The 3 must constantly be re-evaluated and changed, in order to partake in the reflexive act which is TEACHING.

Dr. Stolar - drove home points such as; understanding the role as lecturer, an active and a passive audience, goals for the lecture, preparation (how much), time of the lecture (how long, as well as time of day, being mindful of where an audience's mind may be i.e., food, sleep...),

She also spoke of using digression as a learning tool that keeps an audience engaged, however, there is effective and ineffective ways of doing it. The effective manner, had more to do with a carefully planned and orchestrated digression that actually answers and delivers the necessary information, while keeping the stories interesting - more like a practical discussion that leads to questions- related to a particular topic.

Also, the presentation forum is a stage - and while on stage - you need to be considerate of body placement, volume, space, mannerisms, eye contact, movement and form. Although she also stated that as a presenter you are not necessarily a performer in the sense of entertainment - because education is with purpose, and entertainment is usually thought of in terms of an entertained audience. Meaning that, one ought not think of being a rock-star and use the platform of education as an outlet for performativity. This also means that an entertaining presentation may in fact, have nothing of real value - may not have anything worthwhile to say. A smiling an laughing audience is not necessarily an informed audience. Just don't purposefully deliver dry presentations to counter the fluffy performance. There must be a balance.

Throughout my attempts at giving presentations and lectures I have tried to strike a balance and I feel that I have succeeded because of some good feedback from students and my advisors alike. I do have considerable experience of being on-stage in the form of bands, so I feel that I have somewhat learned to work a crowd - however - I always felt that my ability to perform needed to be bolstered and inflected with more critical commentary and dare I say information - which in most cases doesn't go over well with a bar crowd - or even with my own bands. Thus, I have turned from trying to use the musical stage as a platform for critical thought and discussion - towards a balance within a classroom and conference setting that demands rigorous academic 'educating' and discussing while employing some aspects of performativity that I hope stimilates minds and breaks barriers.

Dr. Stolar also spoke of; the need to brak down barriers in order to activate minds, by mixing up styles between lecture and discussion. Also, the need to properly and intuitively asses an audience to determine what tactic and when would work best. Spontaneity! - also has a place within successful lecturing. The ability to move fluidly though the class and materials in a way that is flexible to change as well as deliver the required material.

One point that I found quite debatable was the use of 'powerpoint' style presentations. In my mind, these kinds of tools are best used as visual delivery aids. I loathe the common use of powerpoint as a device that conveys the same material that is being spoken about. Especially when the presenter is reading off the screen - this drives me crazy - it seems to presuppose that the audience cannot read for themselves, as well it seems to undermine the necessity for a lecturer/presenter at all. I do see the value of word for word, in terms of an audience or members who may need these word for word translations because of a disability. However, the consensus was reached in our workshop that: when the words are up on the screen the students pretty much 'tune out' and simply copy. Yikes!

In my own view - I like to use presentation materials to provide image references, that help, the growing majority of visually oriented people to make connections and analysis for themselves - which is proven to create a deep understanding of a topic, more so than simply copying words.
My method, is to speak, and present images that are either timed to fit the text - or as click throughs, by which I use the images at specific times as discussion pieces. In a sense I found it difficult to listen to Stolar, who chose to read off her own powerpoint while she talked about the benefits of using it in a different and more image based way. In the end she thanked me for the comments about her own presentation. I hope that I didn't offend her.

Dr. Stolar made the point that she uses the text based powerpoint presentation as a way of repetition - and to this end I agreed - a word seen and heard may have more sticking power than a word simply heard.

To move off the powerpoint topic - she also mentioned - staying on track and not to let discussions veer too far off the required topics.

The part of the presentation I found most valuable was when she mentioned - journaling after a presentation experience. A way of self checking to see what worked and what needs work. A way of documenting the experience and working with one self in a self-reflexive manner in order to evolve and change. As a frequent contributor to a range of blogs, as well as a personal journaler, I highly value the act of self reflection. Through self reflection, we can help to help ourselves become better at whatever it is we do.