attention span
yesterday I wrote about lectures – are they out of date? As a post script, it’s worth asking whether there is any credibility in the argument that lectures are outmoded because no-one can concentrate for fifty minutes?
I say “no” – although with a few qualifications to what you expect in terms of the rise and fall of concentration within an hour.
It is entirely possible to concentrate on something for that long – movies are longer than that, and despite the irritating people who throw popcorn about, there are plenty of people who do watch and listen intently to a whole movie. A movie, of course, is multi-media: the director can keep your attention by varying the pace, introducing suspense or surprise, changing the impact visually or aurally, etc…
To concentrate on a book or a lecture, something that requires focussed attention for a long time without so much variation of tone, you have to practice. It’s like jogging or cycling – you start with five or ten minutes a day and build up gradually. I wouldn’t expect a ten year old to listen to a forty-five minute lecture without fidgeting, but it’s pretty much possible for an adult who is in practice.
The movie analogy is useful if you are the lecturer, though (and the same goes for preachers). If you are holding the floor purely with a speech to deliver, how can you change pace, add suspense or surprise, create a mental image, get the listener to sit up straight every now and then to keep them on the ball?
One of the lecturers I encountered in my undergraduate degree had read some research that said around 17 minutes into a lecture people would mentally wander off, and then come back. She used to plan a gear-shift into her lectures so that at the 16-17 minute mark, she would stop talking and show slides or DVD clips to illustrate. Then after five minutes, it was back to talking. The visual break gave a chance for people to shift position, change the medium they were concentrating on, just enough mental “fresh air” to get their second wind for part two of the lecture. It’s a technique I’ve used when lecturing to groups who are obviously not used to listening to speech for long periods.
But you can also add a story here and there (I remember Nicholas Lash’s brilliant lectures, even though they were densely intellectual, ranged through stories, or accounts of history that created a strong mental image, and were delivered with a range of vocal tone – sometimes calmly intellectual, sometimes quite impassioned.
What’s the best lecture you’ve ever heard? Why was it so memorable?
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Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
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The best lecture I ever heard was by Prof Marcella Althaus Reid at New College, Edinburgh on Liberation theology. This was my first brush with Practical Theology and it was like an oasis in the desert. Finally, something that related to ‘people’.
Marcella was about 5′ and wore tight pencil skirts with high heels and seamed stockings. There was probably a Gucci bag lying somewhere too. She had big wild hair and tons of make up. She was gorgeous and from Argentina. ‘You dona know what eet like to be poor’ she would cry, gesticulating wildly, ‘I know what eet like to be poor.’
Many memorable lectures with Marcella in Liberation and Feminist Theology – all great because of her passion and first-hand knowledge.
I also remember fondly lectures in Ecclesiastical History by Jane Dawson for the same reason you cited. Jane used slides of art from the period to tell the stories. Great visuals and music sometimes too. Worked for me.
In my short-lived career as an animation student in 1989, we learned something called “persistence of vision.” We would hold several pages of animation paper between the fingers of our left hand, and fanning and flipping them back and forth, with our right hand we would draw the motion of the character. Our eyes would need to learn to settle on one point and diverge from that point on the sheets before and after the main drawing. The persistence was in being able to maintain “sight” of that spot on the other pages (where it did not actually exist) as we flipped and fanned and drew. Needless to say, I never really learned it, and am now an Anglican priest. However, the point that may be relevant here is that listening to lectures, sermons, even reading (or listening to books on tape) requires us to train the persistence of our attention span. Persistence of hearing.
Clergy, professors, teachers, and other speakers and presenters are often criticised for not being engaging enough, not using enough multi-media, varied learning techniques, etc. But listeners/hearers need to work, too. I don’t believe that listening/hearing is the passive act that so many claim it to be. Now, to be sure, there are many bad, boring, sloppy lecturers, preachers, etc. There are also many with varied learning styles, and yes, learning disablities that simply cannot learn most effectively through the lecture format. I just don’t want to let listeners off the hook by blaming a) the lecturers, or b) the genre of the lecture unfairly.
Many excellent lecturers that I have had were erudite people who were so in love with their subject matter that seemingly off-the-cuff lectures were always interesting and engaging. I have known many boring lecturers, too.
The traditional lecture as a species is quickly disappearing, and by this I mean the lecture that has a thesis, is argued using appropriate rhetoric and evidence, and builds a case for the content that is being communicated. The information is not just presented, it is argued, with rhetorical persuasion. There are very few of those lecturers left. At Trinity College in Toronto, Dr. Stephen Reynolds often offered this sort of lecture in his systematics course. Each lecture was a cogently argued case for whatever aspect of systematic theology he was teaching that day, and each lecture was part of a much larger argument he was making in the whole course. It was a joy to sit and hear him lecture and I learned so much — not only about the subject matter, but about presenting a well-argued case.
Fr. Dan Graves
http://www.danielgraves.ca
I really wanted to post this comment on your post ‘lecture’ (but comments seem to be closed now). Anyway…
My thought relates primarily to sermons. The problem – where it exists – seems to be about the uni-directional flow of the encounter. I like the approach that Cromwell applied to his military chaplains – preach as long as you like, provided that you answer questions for the same length of time afterwards. I have tried this in church (once), and it worked well. It wasn’t easy, but it did seem to engage the congregation more than usual.
Thank Maggi – I’m delivering a lecture this week so will bear in mind the 17-minute tip!
Unable to recall best lecture(s) I ever attended – possibly because attendance at lectures was optional, and it was all … a long time ago.
I used to deliver business pitches (presentations – essentially, lectures to potential clients), and a golden rule was that pace and tone must be varied. I’d say the 17-minute notion is about right (we used to say that the audience would nod off after 20mins!). The basic structure was usually: (1) tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em; (2) tell ‘em, and (3) tell ‘em what you’ve told ‘em.
Greetings from a fellow Anglican in France.
My most memorable lecture was delivered by a chap called Prof Morris. He was an expert on South America and for a whole academic year (we had three terms back in those days) he took us on the highways and by ways from Bolivia to Paraguay via the cocoa plantations of Ecuador. The most memorable of his lectures was the first where he brought a hat from near enough every Country in the southern Americas. He spent the next 50 minutes weaving in the geopolitical stories of the each country into the making of the traditional garb. It was truly memorable and has stayed with me to this day. What made it a good lecture?…….. personal stories, passionate delivery, first hand experience, determination to get a point across and a good dose of humour. Enjoying your book Maggie this Lenten Season. Liked your reflection on walking on water being a community experience rather than solely individualistic.
I’m worried now ( as I think of the lectures I’ve given/still give)! Note to self: Must take these thoughts on board.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the TED lectures I’ve watched online, the Philip Zimbardo one on evil was a fascinating mix of scene setting, audio-visual, research, biography and logical progression of arguement to an understandable conclusion all delivered with passion. It was only about 20mins though so can’t comment on what would happen if he’d been allowed to go on longer.
best lectures have been those when the lecturer is a) passionate about the subject b) relates it to those listening and c) adds a personal element like a story
I don’t think lectures have gone by the wayside but I do think that the postmodern era encourages us to be more authentic students and by that I mean that we are less passive that in years gone by (I know I’ve changed!)