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Are you tired of delivering your content the same way in every session? Imagine how your learners feel. Well, I’m here to save you both. What’s my secret? Keep reading as I share my all-time top presentation methods that will wow you and your learners.
We’re saying goodbye to lectures and hello to lecturettes! What is a lecturette, you ask? Lecturettes are short lectures that can last anywhere from five to twenty minutes. The beauty of a lecturette is that some form of interaction is required between the learners and the instructor during the presentation.
Here are my top five lecturettes:
Graphic Association
Prepare a slide with four to six visuals, where each visual represents a key idea in your content. During the lecturette, explain the significance of each graphic as it relates to the key point. At the end, cover the graphics and ask learners to sketch them from memory. Small groups then compare their sketches with each other to complete any missed items. The instructor then reveals the graphics again and has the learners restate the key idea related to each graphic.
Bonus Tip: Keep the graphics simple to help the learners succeed when sketching from memory.
I’ve used this technique hundreds of times with great success. Learners have fun with it and remember the pictures. They’ll even recreate them for the next day’s review. You know the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Your visual learners will gravitate to this technique.
Mock Interview
A volunteer participant “interviews” the instructor using a list of questions, or a script, provided by the instructor. Other learners become involved by asking questions during an “audience participation” segment built into the script, or by providing written questions to the interviewer. This technique can also be used for a guest speaker (such as a subject-matter expert), with either the instructor or a volunteer participant as the interviewer.
For even more fun, you can take this technique to a “talk show” format. Prepare the script so it’s similar to a talk show with a live audience. You can keep it subdued or hype it up with music, microphones, and costumes. I’ll leave it up to you whether your style resembles Ellen DeGeneres or Jerry Springer!
True/False
Create true or false statements to cover the key points. Have learners go through the statements on their own or in a small group. Once they’ve completed the exercise, debrief the answers as a large group. The beauty of this technique is that learners are presenting the content to themselves. They also have a 50/50 chance of getting the correct answer. Either way, they’re discussing and remembering the content.
Most trainers think of true/false as a test or quiz to review the content. Here, we’re using the technique to present the content—such an AHA moment for our clients.
Search & Learn
Learners work in small groups to research the new content. Create questions focused on key points and ask learners to find the answers in the provided material. At the end of the specified time, review the answers with the entire group. For a large amount of content, different sections of the material can be assigned to different groups.
Bonus Tip: Use this technique for material that is fairly simple or where the learners have some background or experience with the content.
Fill-in-the-Blanks
Learners fill in words or short phrases of the key ideas covered in the lecturette on an outline or in the manual. The outline is completed as the instructor delivers the content. Learners are listening and paying attention to fill in any missing words. This is another popular technique that can be used for any type of content.
We can’t get away from sharing information. It’s part of any training program. However, what we can do is make it an engaging, interactive, and enjoyable experience for our learners. With these five lecturettes, you’ll do just that! Try them out in your next session and let us know how they worked for you.
For more information on these and other techniques, check out our Instructional Design for New Designers workshop. You’ll be exposed to over 50 instructional methods that are sure to transform your training!
