The main body of the program
As for structuring your talk, we suggest you follow this time-honored advice often attributed to Aristotle: Tell the audience what you are going to say, say it, and tell them what you said.
So we begin a presentation by stating the objectives of our program, usually limited to 3 and no more than 4. For example, a talk on hormone therapy (HT) for treating vasomotor symptoms of menopause might mention 1) the history of HT use, 2) which women are appropriate candidates for HT, and 3) how to monitor women who receive HT.
Enhance the talk’s relevance. We like to begin a clinical program with a case scenario wherein we describe how one of our patients had the specific problem and how we used a particular drug, treatment, or device to manage the case. We try to select a patient similar to ones who would be seen by members of the audience.
Simplify as much as possible. We then present the slides exactly as they have been provided by the pharmaceutical company. Most company slides contain too many words as well as diagrams that are too complex for the audience to grasp easily. We try to find one salient point on each slide and focus attention on that single word, phrase, or sentence. We can do this in a small audience by walking over to the screen and pointing it out, or we can use the laser pointer from a distance.
Change things up to keep the message fresh. Let’s be honest, most medical talks are dry and boring. Try to inject some energy and enthusiasm in the middle of the presentation. Every few minutes we tell a story or ask the audience a question. For example, during a program on practice management, one of us (NHB) will relate a story about an unhappy patient and then ask a physician in the audience how he or she might handle the disgruntled patient. This is a nice break from the main content of the presentation, re-engaging the audience in an interactive exchange.
Should you use humor?
Although many physicians attempt to use humor during a presentation, few are talented at stand-up comedy. However, used judiciously humor, like seasoning in fine cuisine, can do great things for a presentation. It can break the ice, drive home a point, and enhance your likeability. It can, though, also backfire. One of us (NHB) once gave a talk to a large audience of pharmaceutical representatives. As part of my wrap-up I displayed a slide from the cover of Economics that showed 2 camels in the mating position. My closing line was that reps need to “hump to it” and get involved with their physicians and be value-added in their product detailing. Afterward, the meeting planner told me that he would never hire me again. He said I had a great program, great material, and a good connection with the audience. But my closing was over the top. I learned my lesson. Never use material that has the potential to offend. If you want to use humor, the self-deprecatingkind is always safest.
Try using visual aids
Our observation is that few physician speakers use visual aids other than their slides. We have learned that audience attention will stay focused on you if you make use of visual aids. For example, if we are speaking to a lay audience about urinary incontinence, we might use a balloon to demonstrate the bladder and the urethra.
Studies have shown that there are more nerve endings from the eye to the brain than from the ear to the brain. Humans purportedly receive 25 times as much stimulus from visual cues than from auditory ones. To paraphrase an old proverb, “One seeing is better than 100 times hearing about”!
A few suggestions regarding the use of visual aids:
- Keep the visual aid out of sight until you are ready to use it. You do not want the audience staring at it when they should be focusing on you or your slide material. We usually keep our visual aids under the table that supports the computer and projector.
- Make certain the visual aid is large enough to be seen by everyone in the audience.
- Do not hand out the aid to the audience during your program. Doing so will divert their attention from you and your material.
- When you have finished using the aid, put it away.