an English question

yes-lecture is more for a talking down to of sorts,and also a speech is usually much shorter than a lecture,which is why most people try to avoid lectures. "go a long way" it can mean help a lot,but also means "goes very far with a little" as in "a little bit of hot sauce goes a long way,you don't need much".

"Speech" and "lecture" have slightly different connotations to me (as an English speaker. Some others might disagree, however). A "lecture", for me, is usually a long speech about one or two subjects, usually done in an auditorium and in a college class. The word "lecture" also can have negative connotation (whereas "speech" does not) - when someone's talking a lot and giving a lot of (usually unwanted) advice, we could also call that a lecture. Lecturing can also be unprepared and improvised (whereas a speech is usually practiced/memorized), and is somewhat condescending to the person "receiving" the lecture. A person of higher status is usually the one doing the lecturing (for example, a teacher/professor, a parent, a coach, etc.) When it's not in an academic atmosphere, the word "lecture" is usually used to give advice or to scold someone for a bad decision they made (just a few examples). So, I definitely think there is a difference between "speech" and "lecture"; that's easy enough to answer. I think "go a long way" can mean many things - one of which could be considered "help a lot". When I hear "..humor goes a long way" - my interpretation is that you're trying to say that humor will stick with us - and will really get our attention. So, I think it's appropriate for you to say that "humor goes a long way" - I definitely agree with that statement! Anyway, good luck with whatever you're doing!