The art of lecturing | Michael Faraday | Book Excerpt
“For thirty years Faraday was the foremost of lecturers on science in London. From the first occasion when, in 1823, as Sir Roderick Murchison narrates, he was called upon unexpectedly to act as substitute for Professor Brande at one of his morning lectures at the Royal Institution (then held in the subterranean laboratory), down to the time of his latest appearance as a lecturer in 1862, who was without a rival as the exponent of natural science.
As no man could achieve and retain such a position without possessing both natural gifts and appropriate training, it is fitting to inquire what were those gifts and what the training which were so happily united in him.
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One who already had set before himself such high ideals could not fail at least to attempt to fulfil them. Accordingly, when in 1816 he began to lecture to the City Philosophical Society, he began to attend an evening class on elocution conducted by Mr. B. H. Smart, though the pinch of poverty made it difficult to him to afford the needful fees. Again, in 1823, previous to taking part in Brande's laboratory lectures, he took private lessons in elocution from Smart, at the rate of half-a-guinea a lesson. After 1827, when he was beginning his regular courses of lectures in the theatre, he often used to get Mr. Smart to attend in order to criticize his delivery. Amongst the rules found in his manuscript notes were the following :
Never to repeat a phrase. Never to go back to amend. If at a loss for a word, not to ch-ch-ch or eh-eh-eh, but to stop and wait for it. It soon comes, and the bad habits are broken and fluency soon acquired. Never doubt a correction given to me by another.
His niece, Miss Reid, who lived from 1830 to 1840 at the Institution with the Faradays, gave the following amongst her recollections : Mr. Magrath used to come regularly to the morning lectures, for the sole purpose of noting down for him any faults of delivery or defective pronunciation that could be detected. The list was always received with thanks ; although his corrections were not uniformly adopted, he was encouraged to continue his remarks with perfect freedom. In early days he always lectured with a card before him with Slow written upon it in distinct characters. Sometimes he would overlook it and become too rapid ; in this case, Anderson had orders to place the card before him. Sometimes he had the word Time on a card brought forward when the hour was nearly expired.
In spite of his recourse to aids in acquiring elocutionary excellence, his own style remained simple and unspoiled. " His manner," says Bence Jones, " was so natural, that the thought of any art in his lecturing never occurred to anyone. For his Friday discourses, and for his other set lectures in the theatre, he always made ample preparation beforehand.”
Excerpted from Michael Faraday, his life and work by Thompson, Silvanus Phillips, 1851-1916, published in 1901. Online at archive.org
Images:
Michael Faraday by Thomas Phillips oil on canvas, 1841-1842 35 3/4 in. x 28 in. (908 mm x 711 mm) via Wikipedia Commons
Michael Faraday delivering a Christmas lecture at the Royal Institution. Alexander Blaikley (1816 - 1903), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Michael Faraday: Sept 22, 1791 - August 25,1867
Nationality: British Field: Electromagnetism
Known for: Advancing studies of electricity and magnetism