Re: Question for instructors
I am not an instructor by trade, but I could teach a course on teaching a course. Let me offer my opinion of what is the single most important technique for instructors. I remember it as the ?70/20/10 rule,? but I may be remembering the title (and the exact numbers) incorrectly. I do not know its source, so I can?t give credit where the credit belongs.
The mission of an instructor, naturally enough, is to convey information to the students. But how much will they retain? The rule says this about the impact of an instructor?s presentation: </font>
- <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">70% of the impact comes from visual signals (e.g., slides, props, hand motions, walking around the room, and pointing at something on the slide).
20% of the impact comes from verbal signals (e.g., changes in tone, inflection, emotion, and volume, and judicious use of pauses).
10% of the impact comes from the actual words you choose to speak.</font>
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As to visual signals, use them to re-engage the students? minds, to keep their thoughts from wandering away, to bring them back to the subject. Don?t go more than 20 seconds without using a new visual signal. It can be a simple and subtle as a nod of your head, a wave of your hand, or a shrug of your shoulders. It can be as dramatic as looking directly at one student as if you were speaking only to that person (the others will be paying attention, for fear that they will be next). And please, when you speak about something on a slide, don?t look at the slide any longer than is necessary to find, and point to, the thing you wish to discuss. Talk to the audience, not to the slide.
As to verbal signals, we have all heard monotonous speakers. Don?t be one.
As to the words you speak, please understand that all of your professional experience and knowledge can help you choose the words, but it is still only worth 10% of the impact. A person who just stands and talks throws away 90% of the potential impact, and shouldn?t expect to get much of the remaining 10% either. NOW HEAR THIS: If you put up a slide, and leave it there, and talk for 10 minutes, then after the first 20 seconds you are throwing away 90% of your potential impact!
Back to your original question. How much time per slide? It all depends on how much information you put on each slide (less is better) and how frequently you intend to call attention to something on the slide (more is better). As a general rule of thumb, I would not keep a slide up for longer than one minute. If you need to talk longer, then turn off the slide, or walk away from the screen. Give a clear visual indication that you want them looking at you, and not at the slide.
Best wishes,
Charlie
p.s. On behalf of your future students, I have a request. If by chance you possess one of those ?laser pointers,? then please perform a ?float test? on it. That is, drop it into a river, to see if it will float.
