Audio Recording - Writing your script

For this entry, I will emphasize lectures for the Humanities.

So, you need to add some audio to your Powerpoint presentations? WRITE A SCRIPT.

Some individuals have the ability to write down a few bullet points and produce an awesome voice over for their Powerpoints; however, others do not have this talent.

Here are the main components your audio lecture should have:



Components:

-Introduction: what will this lecture cover?

• Briefly reference the topics you will discuss and what the learning objectives of this lecture will be.
• Example: Hello class. This lecture will cover the early life of the Prophet Muhammad and how the religion of Islam came to prominence in the Arabian peninsula in the 7th century CE. I will also cover the historical context from out of which Muhammad arises, in order to give you a solid understanding of the cultural and political norms of the time period. At the end of this lecture, you will have a better grasp of who Muhammad was and how he founded the religion of Islam.

-Dates of Important Events

• Is your lecture missing dates? It is very important you place the events and people you are lecturing on in an historical context. Your listener needs to be able to connect your subject matter with a timeline of historical events. 
• When you mention a historical period, make sure you connect what other events were happening around the same time. It makes learning more effective.
• For example: The Buddha is said to have lived in India during the 6th century BCE. This was also the time period that Socrates was philosophizing in Athens.

-Names of important individuals and books

• Enrich your lecture by referencing important authors, political figures, and religious figures of the epoch you are lecturing on. Remember, your subject does not exist in a vacuum. 
• Reference authors that have researched the topic you are engaging. Provide these supplementary readings to your students for further research.

-Vocabulary words

• If you are lecturing on non-English words, make sure you provide the grammatical spelling of  each word, as well as the phonetic pronunciation of each word in your powerpoint presentation.
• If you are not sure how to phonetically pronounce a word, look it up in Wikipedia. They always start their pages with a phonetic pronunciation of the word they are defining.
• Define the words clearly.

-Specific examples

• Use specific examples when you are explaining a concept. You can always make references to particular wars, diseases, cultural events, personal experiences, religions, rituals, etc.
• Don't let your lecture be mostly characterized by generic words and general explanations. Students will stop listening to your lectures early on if they feel they are being fed obvious and general facts.

-Conversational Tone

• Don't sound like you are reading from a piece of paper. Pretend you are talking in front of a class full of students.
• Do not read off the Powerpoints. Your students can read; they do not need you to read to them.