Inhale at start of lecture and speak slowly (5)
I believe the answer is:
drawl
'speak slowly' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'inhale at start of lecture' is the wordplay.
'inhale' becomes 'draw' (drawing is a kind of inhaling).
'at start of' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'lecture' is 'l'.
'draw'+'l'='DRAWL'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for drawl that I've seen before include "Jimmy Stewart spoke with one" , "manner of speaking" , "Speak in slow tone" , "Speak slowly and affectedly" , "Slow speech with prolonged vowels" .)