Asked to give a University Lecture

[Drunkeh]

In a Quandry.

Been asked to give a lecture at a Major University on the subject of Genetics "Data Management". I know my stuff so could put together the material. Just not sure i could stand up infront of a theatre of students and give the lecture. Ive given presentations before, but for some reason, a lecture scares me.

Are giving lectures all that scary? or am i being irrational? its to Msc students....

 

[jassco]

it's only scary in the build-up; once you're five minutes in and the nerves start to settle you'll find yourself starting to enjoy it. When I gave my first one, a colleague beforehand likened it to performing a show, which was so true!

Also with MSc lectures, you'll probably find it's more of a seminar in front of between 10-20 people in a small-ish room rather than a huge lecture theatre

*edit* you're also not being irrational at all, but the best thing to do is give it a try; at worst you don't enjoy it and don't do it again while walking away with about £38 an hour!

 

[imightbewrong]

Uni lectures was one of the most fun things I used to do, back in the day. If you know your stuff you are just telling interested people about something for an hour or whatever. I usually ended up making a few slides with just the key points and some nice charts to give me a prod about what to talk about.

Don't go trying to 'reherse' something - this only applies if you have to say something very specific, or aren't familiar with your subject matter.

If they are MSc they will be smart and on the ball, so be preparded for the obvious questions - if you say something that doesn't make sense to >you<, then it won't make sense to them, they will ask, you will look silly. So, don't say anything you aren't 100% sure about.

Dearest SWMBO used to always be a bit further ahead than the lecturer and asked questions they couldn't answer that made their arguments seem flawed. One day they had a senior inspector in to watch a lecture and see how the lecturers handled it - SWMBO was taken aside at the start by the head of the departement and asked very nicely not to ask any tricky questions for this particular lecture...

 

[Drunkeh]

*edit* you're also not being irrational at all, but the best thing to do is give it a try; at worst you don't enjoy it and don't do it again while walking away with about £38 an hour!

No pay for doing it , a corperate no-no apprently , i just get expenses.

Ive said yes to the lecture, its in December, already nervous about it though

 

[Codehead]

Knowing your stuff is half the battle. It's much easier to talk about things you are confident on.

1. Take a small bottle or glass of water in case your throat dries up.
2. Don't panic about needing a pee just before you start. (It doesn't matter how hard you try, you won't be able to go.)
3. Don't just read out the slides, have bullet points and expand on them.
4. Talk to the audience, not the screen.
5. Enjoy it!

 

[7ofnine]

3. Don't just read out the slides, have bullet points and expand on them.
4. Talk to the audience, not the screen.

Oh if only some of my Uni lecturers had followed this advice. The most tedious lectures of all are the ones where slide contents are copied from board to notebook.
My A level computer studies teacher even dictated her notes for the entire lesson, which we copied verbatim. Easy money for her.

 

[IronGiant]

In a Quandry.

Ive given presentations before,

You'll be fine As said, a group of MSc students will be smaller and hopefully more interested than degree level students.

 

[krish]

is this about bioinformatics?
- the kind of thing I've been in and out of for years

I've given presentations to postgrads and academics quite a few times, not really a lecture as such, but certainly going through real data of theirs on a big screen, and running it through the particular software I was demonstrating. Have also gone through background and history of developments in the area, current needs in academic research and the commercial sector etc ... you know the sort of thing, key drivers etc
- as others have said, just a few bullet points on the slides, which you expand upon

Since it's postgrads rather than undergrads (unless this is a 4 year MSc course), it shouldn't be so intimidating ... I'd just view it as any other presentation you are used to doing

 

[Drunkeh]

is this about bioinformatics?
- the kind of thing I've been in and out of for years

Aye more or less bioinformatics.

 

[Miyazaki]

In a Quandry.

Been asked to give a lecture at a Major University on the subject of Genetics "Data Management". I know my stuff so could put together the material. Just not sure i could stand up infront of a theatre of students and give the lecture. Ive given presentations before, but for some reason, a lecture scares me.

Are giving lectures all that scary? or am i being irrational? its to Msc students....

For the love of God, give them something to do. Don't just make them sit there and listen to you.

Speaking as a teacher, nothing is worse than that.

Good luck with it, you'll be fine.

 

[Drunkeh]

For the love of God, give them something to do. Don't just make them sit there and listen to you.

Speaking as a teacher, nothing is worse than that.

You mean sort of give them a worked example / problem to solve?

 

[IronGiant]

For the love of God, give them something to do. Don't just make them sit there and listen to you.

Speaking as a teacher, nothing is worse than that.

Doesn't that rather depend on what he's been asked to do? If someone asked me to present my work I wouldn't be expected to turn up and try and run a practical class with them in the lecture theatre...

Dave: licensed to PCR

 

[Newton's Ring]

YouTube - Micheal Scott (The Office)

I was looking for the full video but couldn't find it - nevermind, it's not very helpful anyway. Personally, rather you than me but if I had to, I'd take a lot of pills and set something on fire to distract them - maybe a hard drive.

 

[imightbewrong]

For the love of God, give them something to do. Don't just make them sit there and listen to you.

Speaking as a teacher, nothing is worse than that.

Good luck with it, you'll be fine.

Don't think this is right really - I assume this is supposed to be 'this is the state of the art in "Genetics Data Management" and how it's applied in industry' (or something), rather than "break up into groups of three and write down six things you know about Genetics Data Management"

A lecture is supposed to be just that, rather than a seminar/lab practical.

 

[bjd]

Lecturing is very much like making love to a beautiful woman - the first time, you are anxious, worried that something will go wrong, but you'll find it's over before you know it. There will follow an exciting period of experimentation with technique/presentation, but after a time, you'll find yourself 'phoning in with a headache and wishing someone else would do it for you.

Cheers

Brian

 

[imightbewrong]

Lecturing is very much like making love to a beautiful woman...

I thought you just had to read the manual and press the right button - maybe that's nuclear reactors.

 

[majnu]

In a Quandry.

Been asked to give a lecture at a Major University on the subject of Genetics "Data Management". I know my stuff so could put together the material. Just not sure i could stand up infront of a theatre of students and give the lecture. Ive given presentations before, but for some reason, a lecture scares me.

Are giving lectures all that scary? or am i being irrational? its to Msc students....

Nope just be yourself, presentations are one of those skills where either you can do it or you can't. It doesn't matter about the size of the audience, what matters is that you deliver a speach that whilst informative it's interactive, fun and keeps the audience alive. A bit like those Darren Brown live audience shows.

 

[IronGiant]

A bit like those Darren Brown live audience shows.

You mean he's got to bombard them with pseudo intellectual gibberish before losing £5,000 of their money?

 

[adbrad]

Dave: licensed to PCR

PCR? Polymerase chain reaction?
is this to do with the genetics side
Have i missed something?

 

[IronGiant]

Yes, it's to do with molecular biology and Taq Polymerase.

Watching a Polymerase Chain Reaction as a demonstration would be as exciting as watching paint dry...

 

[RuddyRoad]

To OP,I think you need to remember that it is highly likely you know more than your audience, which puts you at an advantage.

I used to lecture with the whole bullet point approach, but as it turns out, this a completely terrible way to try and educate people (although it makes the lecturer's job a bit easier). There are plenty of websites out there that explain why bullet points should be abandoned.

You need to be inventive about the way you want to present your data - use diagrams, pictures, flow charts, videos (?) - anything that engages the audience. If you show them slide after slide with lists of bullet points you go through, they will switch off. If there's a valid reason for interaction, use it; but not just for the sake of it. Avoid random pictures of scenery just to break up the monotony - if your lecture is that boring that you need a picture of a cow in a field to grab peoples attention, you need to be looking again at the content of the lecture.

As for being scared of the audience; a little nervous energy is inevitable, but easily sorted with a small or large amount of strong alcohol....

 

[Miyazaki]

You mean sort of give them a worked example / problem to solve?

Anything you can think of mate. Otherwise they will just tune out.

Engage with the audience in some meaningful way.

 

[adbrad]

Yes, it's to do with molecular biology and Taq Polymerase.

Watching a Polymerase Chain Reaction as a demonstration would be as exciting as watching paint dry...

I just started a genetics degree, does that mean i have my provisional, if so when do i get my full licence

I hope when i do i don't have to get insurance as a 19 year male with a licence to replicate DNA it is going to cost me

 

[IronGiant]

My specialty was inheritance of mtDNA, until I got selfish and thought propagating my own was of more interest You don't need a license for that

Dave

 

[Steven]

imho do not use too many powerpoint/oht notes

People copying what is up on view will not be listening/paying full attention to what you are saying

Spare use is fine to reinforce your main points. Anything more and people will be inclined to jot down everything they see rather than listen to the lecturer