"The only reason to give a speech is to change the world" - John F. Kennedy
One of the aspects of my professional work that I have put incredible effort into and have received so much from are my presentation skills. This is a skill that I had to build from the ground up over the past 20+ years. I am convinced that I would not have had the opportunity to do so many things had I not worked hard on developing these skills (e.g., I never would have had the opportunity to start medical school or be the President of the ACOI). I present to you some of the lessons that I have learned the hard way, from both failures and successes and also from closely replaying every single time that I had the opportunity to publicly speak as well as the countless hours that I have poured over presentations while both preparing for presentations and honing my skills.
Using AI to Create Stunning Infographic Slides
One thing that I am currently obsessed with now is the power of AI. I now exclusively use Google Slides for all of my slideshow presentations, partly because of the ease of collaboration and partly because of the best-in-class integration with Google Gemini and their image creation tools. For example, I can easily ask it to create a stunning infographic based upon some text that I have created and it will create an infographic that is both beautiful, storytelling, and sophisticated. Something that would have taken me hours in the past is done in seconds by AI. It can also beautify even the most mundane slides while maintaining branding and style of your slides. It has changed how I develop my slideshow presentation and is a tool that I never want to do without again.
Public Speaking Requires Showmanship
Studies back in the 1970s, the “Dr. Fox Effect” showed that actors can have better perceived learning outcomes than the scientists who actually are more knowledgeable of the materials. From this, I learned that showmanship is important if you truly care about learning outcomes. Many people use the term “edutainment”, a practice that makes education entertaining, exciting, inspirational, and fun. I love to learn and I hope that future physicians get the joy out of learning that I do. Focusing on strategies that accomplish this should be an important consideration along with the content.
An Expert is a Master of the Basics
I truly believe that experts are the ones that are masters of the basics. When giving a presentation, there are a number of basics (e.g., slideshow preparation, organization of thought, delivery of content, speaker presence, etc). A great presenter focuses on honing their skills on each and gimmicks, while helpful, will not give you the long-term success of focusing on these basics.
Learn the Room
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to speak to various groups and I have tried various techniques with them. Years ago, I was speaking to a group of Rotarians (a group of local business folks who get together to create a sense of community, do good deeds, learn what is going on in the community, and enjoy fellowship over lunch). As I always do, I showed up early, got the AV sorted out, made my introductions to the leaders, and got a chance to meet the various folks in the room as they filtered in. On this particular occasion, I was able to spend some time really getting to know the personalities - I learned about the banker, the insurance sales person, the local politician, the hospital executive, etc. I learned the names of the affable group of guys that sat at the back table and loved to joke arounds (the trouble makers in the back of the class type). I had one of the most enjoyable presentations that I ever had. I was able to call out the names of different people as references to the new medical school that I was working on and how it was going to affect them. I weaved in some nice words about some of the folks in the room, by name. I also would call out the affable guys in the back of the room and make some jokes that involved them - they reliably provided boisterous laughter that provided incredible levity, trust, and familiarity in the room. To this day, I try to do the same thing every time I speak and it pays dividends every time.
Put the Work In
You get out of public speaking what you deserve (and more so if you put a lot of work into it). Preparing for a talk is tedious work. I frequently start months ahead of time, preparing each slide with meticulous thought and attention, talking with attendees and getting their perspectives (which makes for engaged audience members and provides insight), and practicing some of the things that I say. I have found that this preparation pays dividends in ways that I didn’t expect. For example, my talking points on an upcoming presentation become talking points in casual conversations, mentoring encounters, and other work-related endeavors that I never would have predicted. By thinking and processing well in advance, ideas to improve and practice my points are always coming around and help set up for home run presentations and improve the quality of the lives around me and my own life.
“The Audience is King” - Nancy Duarte
Giving your best knowledge, kindness, and insight to every group you speak with pays unexpected dividends. It is amazing how much insight you will get in both preparing and giving your presentation. Attendees have taught me incredible things, both before, during, and after my presentation that have changed my life. Also, I am convinced that audiences feel it when you treat them like royalty - they have a tendency of treating you like royalty back. You are also more likely to educate, enlighten, or persuade when the audience feels the genuine and authentic care that you give them.
Simplification & Clarity of Thought (One Thought Per Slide)
Simplification is the number one thing that I need to convince new speakers of. I see novice speakers putting a ton of content on slides - sometimes as a defensive mechanism and sometimes as part of some anxiety that they may run out of material. The challenge is that folks tune out as soon as they see too much on their slides. Also, a lot of content on slides is overbearing for learners. The best presenters have only one thought per slide, in general. When thoughts are organized and presented cleanly, folks learn more, stay focused, and are engaged. It also puts the speaker of being the conveyor of knowledge rather than a human reader of content.
Body Language
Never stand behind a podium - it is a defensive posture and I have never had an audience attack me (and even if they did, standing behind the podium would not have been very effective). Have nothing between you and the audience. Gesticulation (talking with hand gestures) is how you likely talk to your family at home and can provide non-verbal cues as an expression of what you are saying and adds energy to your presentation. Looking at your audience members is part of an engrained human behavior of communication - your mother started looking at you while she was talking to you as a baby and we are all hardwired for eye contact. Appropriate smiling and variation of emotions creates more compelling interactions.
Maximum Duration of Persuasive Speeches is Twenty Minutes
One of my favorite books for persuasion is Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff is my favorite book on human persuasion. It includes evidence-based insights when we need to persuade others. As a founding medical school dean, I have had to persuade many (hospitals to take medical students, potential faculty members to teach medical students, potential funders to fund medical education, etc.). I also believe that in many ways, education is a form of persuasion. TED Talks are 18 minutes or less. I feel some of it for engagement duration, but some of it for folks to be able to digest the information. In Pitch Anything, the authors present evidence that a persuasive talk should be no more than 20 minutes. In general, a shorter presentation actually takes more planning and consideration than a longer presentation.
Star Power
After you finish an excellent presentation, you are a bit of a “star” in the room. You have celebrity status for a short period of time. I use this time to have any persuasive discussions that I need to have with anyone in the room. I also will book meetings with attendees immediately after this time, if needed. It is also the time to take selfies with attendees, if needed. It also provides you with that dopamine spike as a reward for a job well done and also presents a positive feeling that will help you debrief as you think about all of the things that you can do to make your next presentation even better.
