Post by paulbarden on Feb 11, 2013 15:25:19 GMT
@lizasuar:
I've done many of these presentations over the years, and I would estimate that you have enough material there for forty-five minutes, assuming you are going to do more than simply list your key points. So, if you haven't already done so, sit a friend down and rehearse this in real time to find out exactly how long it's going to take. I think you're going to be shocked to realize just how much time you need to deliver all of this content. Instead of describing every genus on your list, I would select three or four at most, go into some detail on those, and leave the rest for a flyer to hand out at the end. Links to online resources are a terrific thing to include in a handout, so people can do their own research later if they have an interest. (It's your job to create that interest!)
Whenever I have planned a lecture for a horticulture group, I often include far too much information into the lecture and end up cutting at least half of it out in order to make it more accessible. It's a bad idea to include so much content that people feel overwhelmed by the density of information and cannot absorb it. You may want to choose only two or three of the really interesting features of your itinerary (the features that make carnivorous plants fascinating!) and emphasize those above all else. A friend of mine - a textbook editor by trade - told me years ago that the first thing to do with a body of work is to throw out half of the material in the first edit; what you omit is as important as what you include! The same holds true for spoken presentations.
If you don't have the undivided attention of your audience, you're not doing your job! Ask yourself: "If I were in the audience, what parts of this lecture would get ME really excited about the topic?" Start with that and the rest will flow from there ;-) Good luck, you've put a lot of thought into this; kudos.
Paul
I've done many of these presentations over the years, and I would estimate that you have enough material there for forty-five minutes, assuming you are going to do more than simply list your key points. So, if you haven't already done so, sit a friend down and rehearse this in real time to find out exactly how long it's going to take. I think you're going to be shocked to realize just how much time you need to deliver all of this content. Instead of describing every genus on your list, I would select three or four at most, go into some detail on those, and leave the rest for a flyer to hand out at the end. Links to online resources are a terrific thing to include in a handout, so people can do their own research later if they have an interest. (It's your job to create that interest!)
Whenever I have planned a lecture for a horticulture group, I often include far too much information into the lecture and end up cutting at least half of it out in order to make it more accessible. It's a bad idea to include so much content that people feel overwhelmed by the density of information and cannot absorb it. You may want to choose only two or three of the really interesting features of your itinerary (the features that make carnivorous plants fascinating!) and emphasize those above all else. A friend of mine - a textbook editor by trade - told me years ago that the first thing to do with a body of work is to throw out half of the material in the first edit; what you omit is as important as what you include! The same holds true for spoken presentations.
If you don't have the undivided attention of your audience, you're not doing your job! Ask yourself: "If I were in the audience, what parts of this lecture would get ME really excited about the topic?" Start with that and the rest will flow from there ;-) Good luck, you've put a lot of thought into this; kudos.
Paul