I wrote about lecterns and podiums and confused the terms quite a bit to save some words. For the record - a lectern is placed on a table or on top of some other base. A podium, on the other hand, is free standing. The word comes from ‘pod’, which is the Greek foot, because it stands on its own.

Most Toastmaster clubs have at least one snob who gets excited whenever someone confuses the terms. It is important to get it right so you don’t appear to be part of the unwashed masses, as the thinking goes.

The fellow who does this at my club (it’s not me) is nice about it, but I’ve seen downright crabby behavior at other clubs. Once a guy shouted the correction right in the middle of an already nervous speaker’s presentation, thinking himself funny and doing a favor. The guy who was interrupted was neither amused nor helped.

More important than getting lectern/podium wording right is not being a jerk. Most of the audience doesn’t know or care about the lectern/podium difference, but they do know and care when they see rudeness. If you see someone calling out the difference and being a jerk about it (I’m sure you are not the jerk), tell them to knock it off. Do this in private – they deserve respect even if they weren’t showing it themselves. The good natured snob who graciously points out the difference, like the guy in my club, is doing some service and should be left alone - though not encouraged!

I’m not the only person who has noticed this - this fellow here writes along the same line, over 7 years ago it seems and down in California.