Underutilization and misuse of audiovisual modes of communication by senior faculty

Guest lectures by 10 chairmen of medical school departments, five professors, and five associate professors were videotaped. Their means of communication were than analyzed in detail. The faculty did best when using the written word for lecture synopses. The majority misused or underutilized audiovisual methods at least part of the time. A number of basic mistakes were made during slide presentations, including intermixing of illegible slides with very clear ones. All of the speakers projected still photos (slides) but relied very little on movie films and videotapes. The sampling reported here implies that audience preferences and needs are not being met well by some faculty members, who may benefit from workshops or other training in audiovisual modes of communications.