A lectern is the tall, narrow stand a speaker puts their notes or an open book on. The top slopes towards the speaker so the pages sit at a readable angle instead of lying flat, and the whole thing stands at about chest height so you read while standing up. You see them in three places above all: in churches, where the Bible is read from one; in university lecture halls; and at press conferences and formal speeches, where the speaker stands behind one with a microphone attached. Most lecterns are just the stand itself — a post with a sloping top, sometimes on a small base. That is the difference between a lectern and a podium, though almost nobody keeps the two words apart any more. Strictly, a podium is a raised platform you stand ON (from the same idea as 'foot'), and a lectern is the stand you put papers on. In everyday American English, people call the stand a podium all the time, and no one is confused. If you want to be careful — in an exam, in formal writing — use lectern for the reading stand. A church lectern is often a fixed piece of furniture, sometimes beautifully carved, and traditionally in the shape of an eagle with its wings spread to hold the book. A conference lectern is usually a plain moveable box. Both get the same word.