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A student said they didn’t like my delivery. What do I do?

I've gotten this comment many times myself, so you may be wondering, what should I do?

 

First, you have to decide if the delivery was really a problem or if it is just this student. I have had students tell me that I talk too fast, and others say I talk too slow. Obviously, I can’t make both of these groups of students happy, so I decided to simply talk at the speed that is comfortable for me. In the case of delivery speed, it is an easy fix since the video player allows students to playback the video at 0.75x or 1.5x, too. I also mention this in my introduction video, and the complaints about delivery speed have decreased.

If you get complaints about your dialect or accent, you do have to remember that you are serving an international audience. I am an American and I had a British student complain because my slides used the word “color” instead of “colour”. Again, you can’t please everyone, so pick a format and go with it. I’ve also had complaints that my “accent” is hard to understand because I speak “American-ese”. If you have a thick accent, it can be beneficial to take some vocal courses that help you minimize your accent, since this will make you easier to understand regardless of where your student is in the world. Often, international students seek out “American” or “British” accents because they are more common and easy to understand in the global marketplace.

If you get complaints that your delivery is “monotone” or “boring”, you should take that criticism and work to improve your delivery. Students want to be engaged and entertained. Try to use different peaks and valleys to your voice and tell stories as you teach. This will go a long way in creating engaging delivery.

 

Hopefully this helps a bit for some of you who are new to the platform and building your first courses. Remember, you can't please everyone, but do take the time to stop and think if they have a valid point!

Jason

 

@Hypnodan: I occasionally get told I talk too slow, but for others that is what they say they like about my presentation. A couple of years ago I decided to make a YouTube video where I tried to talk as fast as I see other YouTubers talk. It was only a five minute video and it felt like it was going to kill me trying to keep up that speed for five minutes. I have never done that again and wouldn't do it for a course, but it was interesting that no-one seemed to notice I was talking fast (for me) and that I was struggling throughout the video.

 

I saw a post somewhere in this community a few weeks ago mentioning about mentioning that you can adjust video speed. I have obviously always known this, but for some reason never thought of it as a solution to suggest but think it is a great idea and will likely do this.

 

All the best

Dan

Author:

@JasonDion