Be prepared for your next 30-second T&L conversation

Many relevant bits of our social and professional interactions happen within a few seconds after starting conversations with someone else. Additionally, within the academia, lecturers are frequently exposed to student’s complaints or alternative points of view which may challenge the way Teaching and Learning (T&L) is being managed. However, students may not speak up when they are asked for feedback, but in out-of-context situations instead. At that moment, the (unprepared) lecturer needs to come up with a good answer. No postponement is allowed and, generally, this lecturer will just have around 30 seconds to go over his/her major points in a clear and comprehensible manner. This paper reviews the reasons why some innovative teaching methods generally cause some level of discomfort among the students. Examples about the usual complaints that they raise are also analysed. Finally, a series of short dialogues involving both peers and students as locutors and exemplifying how these conversations generally evolve are included. By means of these short dialogues the reader can better prepare him/herself for key T&L-related difficult conversations. Anticipating these conversations is relevant because they involve delicate issues about the way the instructor approaches innovative teaching and how the students perceive them. Therefore, this paper provides reflections and additional tools for new lecturers who try to implement T&L innovations and that have to deal with some opposition among the students.