I am confident that we all have had a certain teacher or lecturer that made a huge impression on us. Perhaps it was their energetic approach, their eccentricity, their vast knowledge base, charisma, or their enthusiastic personality. In most cases, and unknowingly, these professionals were skilled at teaching from the podium. Their delivery was engaging. It was varied. It was a performance where stories unfolded dramatically with in-depth emotion. There was logical structure, active engagement, thoughtful reflection, and deep connection. One of the most fundamental issues in instructional communication is the method in which lecturers and students verbally communicate about course material. This communication can take place in the form of discussion, workshops, seminars, appraisals, class activities, lectures, student presentations, conversations, and much more. While the teaching from the podium has dominated universities for centuries, both scholarly and popular press reports have challenged the lecture method: questioning whether or not this instructional method can adequately facilitate learning in today’s higher education environment (Gross-Loh, 2016).
Although the rapid development of innovative technologies over the past number of years has made higher education more accessible to a vast number of people, lecturing continues to be the most employed tool for information transmission in higher education (Schmidt et al., 2015). Even though we are encompassed with modern technical and virtual resources, we continue to lack the growth, development, and confidence in executing delivery excellence from the podium, in all its forms. So, as higher education lecturers, how do we teach effectively from the podium and keep alive this traditional method of knowledge transfer?
- Firstly, knowing your audience is essential. The higher education audience is a complex mix of individuals: undergraduates, postgraduates, varying capabilities, visual learners, additional needs, mature students, and so on. Presented with such variety in personalities, backgrounds, intellect and need, the task of effective teaching from the podium can be extremely challenging, difficult, and frightening for many. Knowing your audience is the first step to consider when planning your presentation.
- Organisation is key to a smooth and confident approach to teaching from the podium. It is important to take a few seconds to get yourself comfortable before you speak. Ensure that your notes, props and water are all within close proximity. Then, breathe, believe, and begin.
- Although many students may know you and your expertise, it is important to always commence a presentation with an Introduction. As simple as it may sound, many lecturers forget to, or even refuse, to do this. Your audience will appreciate you lifting your head, smiling, offering eye contact, and introducing yourself and your expertise.
- Engagement with your audience is enhanced when a verbal message is combined with a powerful image on the screen. Take time to plan and resource this. Your audience will appreciate it.
- Try not to repeat yourself. The audience will become bored and will certainly disengage. Always avoid boredom. Unfolding new information will keep an audience alert and interested.
- Think like a performer. After all, that is what you are essentially doing: performing to an audience. Performers use body language to entertain, entice, and empower. Use this. Your audience will become much more interested in what you are delivering.
- Be brave and act. Many lecturers find teaching from the podium quite uncomfortable and they do not particularly enjoy it. Unless you act, this will come across tenfold. Pretend that you are not frightened and that you absolutely love this form of teaching. With such consistent, positive, enthusiastic behaviour, this will automatically become embedded into your delivery.
- Never ever go over your scheduled time. The audience will not take kindly to this, and will disengage, resulting in a dull and somewhat chaotic end.
- Audiences appreciate and react well to challenges. A challenge can be effective in self-evaluation and discovery of new and innovative ideas and concepts. Always include a challenge in your presentation.
- Creative engagement is vital. The audience will be much more engaged if you teach creatively. Therefore, think creatively, plan creatively, and present creatively.
- Laughter unites a presenter with an audience. Add some humour to your presentation as this will allow the audience to recharge for the next serious part of the delivery.
- All audiences love to hear stories. Real-life stories make an impact. Incorporate great and memorable stories into your presentation which will reinforce and consolidate your main points.
- Powerful quotes can reinforce messages you want to share with your audience. By using one or two powerful quotes at appropriate points, your audience will realize the importance of the message you are providing.
- Leave a reasonable amount of time for questions and answers. If you can not answer all the questions, take some afterwards, via email, or over coffee. Informal discussions can prove highly beneficial.
- Many lectures and presentations end with utter confusion, unfinished business, and uncertainty. The end of a presentation is highly important. Consolidate knowledge by ending memorably, passionately, and with a challenge and action for the audience.
In today’s society, the most fundamental problem of teaching from the podium is that presentations tend to be based on the information transmission paradox. This is the concept that what is taught by the lecturer is retained by the student. However, in reality, the audience does not accumulate information as taught. They have their own personal interpretation of what is presented. The mind is constructive and students must do something with knowledge acquisition in order to remember and use in the long-term. Teaching from the podium has the potential to be a wonderful experience for both presenter and audience. If the appropriate and necessary planning, preparation and tools are put in place, teaching from the podium is a presentation delivery method in higher education which will be welcomed for generations to come, in particular, if the presenter knows how to tell a good story!