Giving a Talk Talk Paul Sutton Ph D

“Giving a Talk” Talk Paul Sutton, Ph. D, MD Associate Professor General Internal Medicine University of Washington

Overview • Public speaking tips • Tips for effective Power. Point presentations • Presentation of data • The delivery

Public Speaking Tips • Tell ‘em • Tell them what you are going to tell them • Tell them what you have told them

Overview • Public speaking tips • Tips for effective Power. Point presentations • Presentation of data • The delivery

Public Speaking Tips • Know your subject • Know your audience – What’s in it for me? • Structure – Particularly crucial for shorter talks • Your style – Find your own voice – But seek to entertain as well as educate

Your Style • “Good teaching is one fourth preparation and three fourths theater. ” Gail Godwin • Use eye contact, voice modulation, and animation (yours, not Power. Point’s) • Take chances (but be tasteful)

Public Speaking Tips • Limited recall – “The magical number seven, plus or minus two”. Miller GA. Psychol Rev 1956. 63: 81 -97. • Emphasize key points – Don’t attempt the Vulcan mind meld – “If you only remember one thing…”

Effective Habits • Outline the talk before opening any presentation software • Scientific Presentation – Background – Objective – Methods – Data – Discussion

Effective Habits: outlines Topic-based Lecture • Intro • Epidemiology • Clinical Features • Diagnostics • Treatment • Areas of study • Review Case-based Lecture • Intro • Case 1 • Teaching point • Case 2 • Teaching point • Lather, rinse, & repeat • Review

Effective Habits • Prepare in advance! – “It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. ” Mark Twain • Practice – Particularly the introduction • Peer review – Is the story coherent? – Is the presentation of data clear? – Eliminate ypographical errors

Power. Point Tips • Use Power. Point – 95% market share – Presentation software options: • PC/Mac/UNIX: Open. Office by Sun • Mac: Keynote – Can be difficult to share – Potential formatting surprises • Most conferences require. ppt (or. pptx)

Savvy Slides (K. I. S. S. ) • • • Dark background, light text Consider using bold for all fonts Shadowed text is more readable • Use font size 24 or greater • Use easy to read fonts – – Arial Times New Roman Comic Sans MS English 111 Vivace BT

Savvy Slides (44 point) • Arial 36 • Arial 28 • Arial 20 • Comic Sans MS 36 • Comic Sans MS 28 • Comic Sans MS 20 • Times New Roman 36 • Times New Roman 28 • Times New Roman 20

Backgrounds • Readable, classic • But, fatiguing over time

Backgrounds • Annoying, pointless background • Poor contrast • High contrast is minimally better • Wow, what a great lecture

Slide Content • About one minute per slide – This ratio increases as the length of the talk increases • 5 -8 lines of text per slide • Simplify information (on the slide!) – More Hemingway than Bulwer-Lytton – More haiku than Dante

Slide Content • For goodness sakes, don’t read your slides! • Avoid STDs – Speaker/text dissonance • Use animations sparingly

“Death by Power. Point” http: //norvig. com/Gettysburg/sld 006. htm, accessed 4/14/09

http: //canadiancpd. medscape. com/content/2002/00/43/71/437182_fig. html Accessed 7/2/2009

Power. Point Tips • Don’t forget to stretch/change gears • Attention span may be 10 -15 minutes – Perhaps less in the age of Twitter • Various techniques to re-engage the audience

Overview • Lecture tips and effective habits • Tips for effective Power. Point presentations • Presentation of data • The delivery

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Presentation of Data • Power. Point conveys data at relatively low bandwidth

Lindholm LH, et al. Lancet 2008. 366: 1545 -53

AFFIRM. NEJM 2002. 347: 1825

Tables, Charts, and Graphs • Avoid tables & figures from journals – they do not project well • Tables & figures should be clearly labeled, and make sense at a glance • Orient the audience & walk them through the data

Tables, Charts & Graphs • You’ve failed if you have to begin with an apology • Limit data to what is necessary to convey your point – But don’t deceive • Highlight key points

Atenolol vs. Other Anti-hypertensives: Stroke ASCOT-BPLA 1. 29 (1. 12 -1. 49) ELSA 1. 58 (0. 69 -3. 64) INVEST 1. 14 (0. 93 -1. 39) LIFE MRC Old 1. 34 (1. 13 -1. 58) Make another point with text box or highlighting 1. 22 (-. 83 -1. 79) UKPDS 0. 90 (0. 48 -1. 69) TOTAL EVENTS 1. 26 (1. 15 -1. 38) 0. 5 0. 7 1. 0 1. 5 2. 0 Lindholm LH, et al. Lancet 2008. 366: 1545 -53

US Carvedilol Heart Failure Program: Effect on Hospitalizations 29%* 28%* 38%* 30 Placebo (n = 398) Carvedilol (n = 696) 20 % 10 Duration of therapy: 6. 5 months (median) *P <. 05 0 All Hospitalizations Cardiovascular Hospitalization Heart Failure Hospitalizations Fowler MB et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2001; 37: 1692– 1699.

Take Care with Colors

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler. ” Einstein

The Delivery • Redundancy – Computer, webmail, USB flash drive, CD – Include all files necessary for any animation (e. g. video) • Get there early, check out the room, controls, water • Ask a friend/colleague for feedback – Learn something from every talk

Overview (“Tell ‘em”) • Lecture tips and effective habits • Tips for effective Power. Point presentations • Presentation of data • The delivery

Take Home Points • Be knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and animated • Focus on a few take home points • Legible slides (and don’t read them!) • Pay particular attention to the presentation of data

“Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening. ” Dorothy Sarnoff

Suggested Reading • Federman D. How do you give a great lecture? Parts I and II. SGIM Forum, June and July 2009. Accessed at http: //www. sgim. org/index. cfm? page. Id=809 – Very practical, expert opinion • Tufte ER. The cognitive style of Power. Point: pitching out corrupts within. 2 nd edition. Graphics Press (Cheshire, CT). 2006. – An essay on the limitations and cognitive shackles of Power. Point – Available at the bookstore for $7 • Keller J. Killing me microsoftly with Power. Point. Chicago Tribune, January 5, 2003. Accessed at http: //www. gbuwizards. com/files/chicago-tribune-julia-keller-05 january-2003. htm – Martin Luther King and Robert Frost à la Power. Point • Collins J. Giving a Power. Point presentation: the art of communicating effectively. Radiographics 2004. 24: 1185 -92.