How to give a lecture Course for Young Psychiatrists, Nairobi, 23 rd March 2007 David Goldberg Institute of Psychiatry King’s College, London

General technique  Decide exactly how many minutes you have  If you are going to use slides, prepare them first  By yourself, try saying everything you want to say and time it carefully.  It probably takes far too long! How many minutes too long?

Shortening the lecture Which slides will you cut out? Remove them, and try again. Remember, the audience does not need to know everything that you know! What is the message? The title should relate to the AIM of a short lecture, and should command the audience’s attention! Keep repeating the lecture until it is slightly too short.

Your slides: 1 Only show what you want the audience to see. Cut out everything else Maximum 6 lines; max 40 letters per line They must be able to read ALL of it at the back Label all graphs, show clearly what the axes are Label all tables: don’t use published formats

Your slides : 2 Keep it simple – not too many colours Use legible fonts – Arial, Tahoma – this one is Comic Sans Serif These fonts are not so good: Times Roman; or Courier Don’t use distracting devices – animated cartoons, or complicated background

So, here is a good slide  Only a few sentences  You can read them at the back of the lecture theatre  Only two colours  Nothing fancy!

Males, drug or alcohol dep. Males, any internalising CMD Females, any internalising CMD Females, drug or alcohol dep. 30% 20% 10% 0% And here is a graph: note – NO KEY, graphs labelled using colour and individual labels

Learn the beginning and the end by heart You will be much less nervous if you do! Decide how you will greet the audience, and start by telling them what the aim of your talk is. Do not use notes for this bit! The lecture must end on a firm, interesting note. What are the implications of what you have said. Once more, learn this by heart

Trying the lecture out! Rehearsal, preferably in front of your partner or a close friend, is essential  did the audience understand what you were trying to say?  were there things they did not understand?  were you stuck in your notes?  Did you look at the audience at all? Ask them!

Well before the lecture.. Do you know where the lecture will be held? How to get there? Whether they have audio-visual equipment that you will need? If in doubt, take material in two formats – power point and transparencies. Take TWO copies of your disc!

Will you be using notes? You certainly will NOT be reading from them!  No notes at all is best - just use the slides to remind yourself of what you need to say  If lecturing in a foreign language, repeated rehearsals are necessary, with someone you speaks the language well listening  IF you must have notes, use a small deck of cards 8 x 12 cm with main points on them

On the day.. Get there early. If there is an audio-visual technician, get to know him, and get him to show the materials for you. Agree how you are going to ask for “next slide” Familiarise yourself with any controls, pointer &c.

How to stand.. Legs slightly apart, weight on both legs is best. If using a computer, you must be able to see it. Keep your hands visible, between shoulders and waist. Symmetrical movements best If nervous, hold something

How to speak.. Speak clearly, and not too fast or slow. Make sure that everyone can hear you if you are not sure Make eye contact with your audience – this is VERY IMPORTANT. If you are using notes, look up whenever you can

Using the pointer.. Hold this in one hand, and brace it with the other arm – in this way your tremor will not be visible DON’T turn round to look at the screen unless you are pointing something out with the pointer The only things worth pointing out are graphs and numbers: Do NOT point out text you are reading out!

If you go over your time.. 1.Tell the Chairman you will finish in one minute 2. Jump to your main conclusion 3. End the lecture as you would have done