ENTtoday

5 Public Speaking Tips for Physicians

by Brande Victorian •

Dr. Miller has her own rule of thumb when it comes to PowerPoint: no more than six lines on a slide. “Presenters typically use busy, data-driven slides. Use simple graphs or emphasize the important statistics in a different color,” she suggested, noting that a well-chosen visual can significantly reduce the time needed to present a concept. “Visuals should be bold and brilliant, and they should be fully integrated into the presentation.”

Think on Your Feet

One key skill physicians traditionally haven’t been able to master is sensing the mood of the audience and altering their presentation accordingly, Dr. Hall said, adding that this is a huge aspect of keeping the audience engaged.

“Stand-up comedians sense how their presentation is going and alter it to the mood of the audience, and I think that is what really good medical presenters can do as well.” Although he said that capability isn’t something that can be taught, there are ways physicians can become more in tune with their audience. Dr. Collins suggested testing listeners using an audience response system prior to beginning a presentation. The remotes allow audience members to answer questions using the hand-held key pad so that presenters can query the audience to learn more about what they know and tailor the presentation accordingly. As Dr. Collins pointed out, the more prepared you are, the easier this will be.

“By rehearsing and being familiar with the content, you can alter a presentation so that if a question comes up about something you planned to talk about later, you can jump ahead to that information or tell the audience you plan to cover it,” he said.

Because no two presentations are the same, improving your speaking skills is something that you should build upon with each engagement, Dr. Hall said. “It’s a bit like show business. You’re only as good as your last presentation, because that’s the one that people remember.”

Top Mistakes

Public speaking experts said they see doctors make certain mistakes time and time again in their presentations. See if you’re guilty of making one of these common errors.

  • Trying to present too much information in a short period of time: “The purpose of a 20-, 30-, 45-minute or hour-long talk is not to present as much as you possibly can but to concentrate on two or three key facts or themes and emphasize those over and over during the presentation,” Dr. Collins said.
  • Not grabbing the audience’s attention first: “Doctors know the research,” Dr. Miller said. “They’re experts, so they don’t think, ‘I have to hook this audience,’ and they don’t think about delivering in a way to maintain interest.”
  • Bad PowerPoint transitions: “The presentation becomes more important than the context,” Dr. Hall said. “With all the gizmos, it’s very easy to be distracted by clever transitions from slide to slide, and that takes precedent over what you’re trying to say.”
  • Losing your cool: “I have seen it, and it must never, ever happen,” Dr. Hall said. “If you think a questioner is trying to pick an argument with you, you have to diffuse the situation.” One way to do this is by offering to speak with the questioner in private, after the talk is over, he said.