Just finished reading 10 Commandments of Suck-Free Speaking from Jonathan Fields' Blog. I am thinking that this would be a pretty good starting point for a list of commandments for suck-free teaching.

10 Commandments of Suck-Free Speaking

1. Give a damn – If you don’t they’ll know…and you’ll suck.

2. Tell great stories – Craft ones that engage, entertain, educate and inspire.

3. Practice…A Lot – With rare exception, speakers are made, not born.

4. Co-create the experience – Empower your audience to own and guide it.

5. Bullets kill – Use slides only to expand and illuminate, never as a crutch

6. Simplify – You don’t need to prove you’re smarter, they already know you’re not.

7. Be generous – It’s about them, not you.

8. Create a script – Then throw it away, the magic is in the process, not the product

9. Lean into the fear – It means it matters to you, that’s a good thing.

10. Focus and flit - Speak to one person at a time, then another, then another.

Bonus Commandment – Don’t be a butthead. Fly your freak flag, but not for affect and never out of arrogance or anger.