Lecture
(LEK-tyer)
Radioactive
What is Lecture?
One-way presentation delivery method in which information is given from a speaker to the rest of the audience.
Other Common Names for Lecture
Other common names for dialogue education include:
- Sage on the Stage
- Presentation
- Speech
Key Properties
In its purest form, lecture is a broad concept whose primary properties feature:
- one-way presentation (speaker to audience)
- verbal delivery of information.
Resources From The Train Like a Champion Blog
- The 20-minute Presentation Checklist
- Is Lecture the Root of all Evil? My Position is Evolving.
- Too much interaction, not enough lecture? Impossible! Or is it?
- “Mr. Lecturer, tear down this wall!”
- Sandwiches are the lecture of meal options during a training. Here are 6 alternatives.
- Interactive Lectures using Google Docs
- 6 Reasons Your Presentation is no TED Talk
- “Is didactic really all that bad?
- "Keep in mind that while lecture is not inherently dangerous, it has earned its reputation as a radioactive element in large part because of its overuse. It may be easy to default to lecture as a means of content delivery, but there are a variety of other ways to deliver information and keep your audience engaged."
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"If you’d like to reduce your dependency on lecturing, you could substitute these delivery methods:
Reveal a top 10 list. Why plow straight through your content when you can break it up? Top 10 lists have been around for a long time (look up “David Letterman” for a great example). Or, if you’re only presenting three key concepts, you can make it a top 3 list—“top 10” is just a way to categorize your content delivery strategy. Regardless of the number, a list that’s clearly broken down by topics can help alleviate the monotony of what would otherwise be a continuous flow of information.
Conduct a gallery walk. Place information and artifacts about key concepts on posters or at stations around the room. Break your learners into groups and have them rotate around the room and examine everything. Then, have them share their key findings or lead a round of Socratic questioning."
CLOSELY RELATED ELEMENTS
At its core, lecture can be defined as simply talking about content. In fact, lecture may be the single-most prominent method of content delivery known to man. It can take many forms—from standard college classes and Sunday church sermons to TED Talks and storytelling.
If you subscribe to the idea that an instructor must be accountable to the audience, ensuring audience members are following along and enhancing their knowledge, skills, or abilities, then lecture can also present a challenge. Due to the one-way nature of this element, there is inherent difficulty in determining whether audience members are processing the information being delivered (or whether they’re simply making eye contact while their mind wanders off to what they need to buy at the grocery store or who might win the big game this weekend).
For those most comfortable with the lecture format, several elements can bond with it to add instructor-learner accountability.
Audience Response
As you’ll discover in chapter 4, “Solid Elements,” audience polling can immediately engage your learners by asking them a simple question to which they can respond without feeling pressure or risk. This element can help empower them to add to or inform the way you tailor your session content through their responses.
Quiz Software
Similar to audience polling, when you integrate quizzes or other options that force your audience to think about the topic, it suddenly becomes more relevant in the moment.
Microsoft PowerPoint
Offering powerful visual aids or highlighting key points on a slide can enhance the learner experience. If you want more information on how this can be done, watch any presentation by Steve Jobs.
Other Sources of Information on Lecture
Books on lecture (sort of)
