Crash and Learn I

I'm still fussed about the presentation I gave at SAHO earlier this week. I've been making notes on what to improve for next time, and I have a strong feeling that I could be doing a lot more with my presentations.

I think I can apply some of the ideas about transparency from today's earlier post to improving my presentations. That is, I'm going to make a commitment to improve, and record my efforts here.

Yesterday, I picked up Crash and Learn - 600+ Road-tested tips to keep audiences fired up and engaged! by Jim Smith Jr. He's described as "a sought-after motivational speaker". It's just over 100 pages and I liked the practical, bullet-point tips and "war story" format.

As is the case for most physicians, I haven't received formal training on how to speak in public, give presentations, or teach a class. Yet, I'm called on regularly to do all these things. I just follow the "traditional" approaches to lectures and Grand Round presentations, i.e. stand at the front (behind a podium) and talk. Non-stop. For the full hour, if not longer.

We've set the bar so low in most "medical" presentations, that it's a rare treat to see a speaker who brings something (anything!) fresh and exciting to their presentation.

Let's see what Sought-After Motivational Speaker Jim Smith Jr. has to offer.

Chapter 1 - Facilitation Mistakes

In this chapter, "Jim's Gems" seem more applicable to facilitators leading interactive sessions than to the lecture format taken in most medical settings. Nice tips on how to involve your audience, get people back from breaks on time, and deal with distractions.

Hmm... Maybe "lectures" should be made more interactive in order to engage audiences. Why don't we do that routinely? Perhaps because we don't have the training, experience and confidence to do it. Plus, if I involve the audience, I might lose control of the session.

Smith emphasizes the need to open the session in a strong, memorable way. Use a story, powerful quote, "get-up-out-of-your-seat" activity, or a surprising, powerful statistic. He has similar suggestions for a strong closing.

I was surprised to read that he avoids closing with questions and answers, suggesting "The wrong question can sour the atmosphere, leaving a bitter closing taste. Moreover, you might run out of time without thoroughly answering the question." So, I guess you need to have a prepared closing that gives a reliable, strong, positive finish to your presentation, and plan to deliver the closing after the questions and answers.

Take-away quote: "View your participants as the most important people in the room. Put your ego in check."

Now, I hate the self-help books that have "reader participation", i.e. write down your action plan at the end of each chapter. But, as I'm committing to doing this publicly, here we go:

My top three mistakes are:

1. Not opening sessions in a strong, memorable way

2. Going off on tangents when answering questions

3. Too much telling, not enough asking during the session

My action steps to correct these mistakes are:

1. Open with a related story

2. Ask for the question to be repeated or restated, or paraphrase the question back to the questioner, so I can focus my answer

3. Structure presentations with points where audience can make suggestions. Or solicit questions during the presentation

I'm committed to correcting these mistakes because:

I want my audience to be engaged in the presentation, keep their energy up, and answer questions to their satisfaction.


I've got a presentation to give tomorrow, so I'll try to come up with a relevant story that I can open and close with.