A lecture is not a collection of knowledge

Before I think about how to give a lecture, I need to define what a lecture means to me.

A lecture isn't a collection of knowledge that the audience has to memorize. The people in front of me don't need to remember everything I say. Delivering more information doesn't necessarily mean that I've taught them something useful.

For me, a lecture is a chance to share something I've actually tried. I want to talk about where I struggled, what didn't work, and how I dealt with it. The audience doesn't need to repeat my experience exactly. I want them to recognize part of their own problem in it.

This changes how I prepare.

Before building the lecture, I need to understand what the participants are struggling with right now. If I don't know their problem, even correct and useful knowledge can miss them completely.

Preparing a lecture feels like aiming at a target. It doesn't matter how much knowledge I put into the lecture if I'm aiming at the wrong place. I need to aim at a problem the audience actually has.

I want participants to leave thinking, "I can apply that approach to the problem I'm working on." If they feel that way, the lecture has done more than deliver information. It has given them a possible way forward.

I don't think I do this perfectly yet. But this is the kind of lecture I want to give.