Chapter Fifteen
Writing a Lecture
Lecturing is one of the most important parts of being a psychologist.
All of us have attended countless lectures and know
what a difference it makes to listen to someone exciting versus someone
dull. Sometimes, you may not have any choice in terms of the
material you present. But there are 15 keys that everyone can follow
to write better lectures. Here they are.Writing a Lecture
| 1. | Do not read. Listening to a lecture that is read directly from the text is one of the more boring experiences known to humankind. Written language does not sound like oral language. If you ever read a transcription of a good talk, you will find it hard to comprehend. It should be! People just do not talk the way they read. When you hear a talk that is read word for word, the talk sounds unnatural. It is also boring to hear. Therefore, when you write a lecture, you are best off doing it in outline form, or in some other form that will enable you to talk the lecture rather than read it. |
| 2. | Start off exciting. Listeners often decide in the first minute or two whether they are going to continue to listen to a lecture or whether they are going to tune out. Starting with an exciting opening can therefore make the difference between capturing an audience and losing it from the start. I try to start off with an anecdote, a joke that is relevant to the lecture, a concrete example of something I'll be talking about, or some other topic that catches the interest of my listeners. Jokes can be good in an opening, but only if they are related to the rest of the talk. In fact, many people find it annoying to hear a joke that is obviously canned and that is used by either the same person or |
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Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information:
Book title: The Psychologist's Companion: A Guide to Scientific Writing for Students and Researchers.
Edition: 4th.
Contributors: Robert J. Sternberg - Author.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press.
Place of publication: Cambridge, England.
Publication year: 2003.
Page number: 255.
This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.
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