Tertiary teaching in New Zealand/Educational culture in New Zealand/Where have we come from?/What makes a good lecture?

Remember that great lecture?
We have all had the experience of looking forward to a lecture on a topic that we are really interested in... only to find that it was boring and turned us off completely. Sometimes, it's the opposite - what we thought was a dull subject comes to life in an engaging lecture. What's the difference?



Some students think that a lecture should simply be good education, while others enjoy a lecture as entertainment. When planning a lecture, is it more important to know the subject matter intimately, or to present it clearly? Should the lecture be well organised in advance, or would it be better if the presenter was more flexible?