PATRICK DUFF, M.D.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
To describe the key features of an
effective medical lecture
To describe the essential steps in
preparing a well organized slide
show and written syllabus
OVERVIEW
Selecting a topic
Preparing a written syllabus
Preparing slides
Making the presentation
CAVEAT
“We made
too many
wrong
mistakes.”
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SELECTING THE TOPIC
Should be of general interest to the
audience not just to the speaker
Should be at the appropriate level
of sophistication
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SELECTING THE TOPIC
 The most difficult audience to please is
the "mixed audience"
 Students
 Faculty
 Nurses
 Physicians from different specialties
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SELECTING THE TOPIC
Aim the presentation at the
"majority"
Address unique situations that
may affect the "minority"
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SELECTING THE TOPIC
 Presentation should
be amenable to review
in the allotted time
 30 minutes is ideal
 50 minutes is too
long for an audience
of clinicians (or
students), even for
the most attentive
listener
Wow, is the lecture over
already?
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
OPTIONS FOR THE WRITTEN SYLLABUS
 “Bare bones”
outline
 Detailed outline
 Monograph
 Reproduction of
slides
 Slides plus text
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
ESSENTIAL SLIDES
Title slide
Learning objectives
Overview
Conclusions
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Major heading
Subheading
Text lines
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
 Offset each item with a bullet
rather than a Roman numeral or
letter
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Use numerals only if numerical
order is important
 Example – the ABCs of CPR
 Example – the most common
cancers in women, in descending
order of frequency
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Limit script on each line and
number of lines on each slide so
that the slide is easily visible
from the back of a larger
conference room
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
“TOO MUCH” MATERIAL ON SLIDE
 Criteria for the diagnosis of severe pre-eclampsia










BP > 160 mm Hg
BP > 110 mm Hg
CNS hyperexcitability
Visual changes
Headache
Pulmonary edema
IUGR
Thombocytopenia
Abnormal liver function tests
Oliguria
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Choose appropriate colors for
the background and text so
that the bullets and script are
easily visible and the text
reproduces uniformly
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT – BAD EXAMPLE
Be wary of color choices
Be wary of color choices
Some color combinations may not
be easily visible
Some color combinations may not
be easily visible
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Choose appropriate size
lettering – especially when
your lecture will be
presented in a large room
Do not use font size < 28
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT - EXAMPLE

This script is too small
This script is
too big
This script is probably just
right
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Limit the number of narrative
text slides to approximately 1 to
1.5 per minute
Proofread slides carefully
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
 When you do
not proofred yur
slides carfully,
you create the
impression of
hapharzardniss
in your
approash to
science
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Use graphs, pie charts, and tabular
summaries in lieu of narrative text
when appropriate
Be certain that graphs and tables
are labeled correctly and that they
are easily visible
HIV INFECTION
RISK OF PERINATAL TRANSMISSION
Obstetric
Intervention
Perinatal
Transmission (%)
No treatment
28
ZDV alone
8
HAART
<2
HIV INFECTION
EPIDEMIOLOGY IN WOMEN
A-A
Hispanic
White
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Avoid use of complicated tables
and figures
You should not have to
apologize for a "busy slide“
because you should not show it
in the first place
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Be wary of
flash over
substance
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
SLIDE FORMAT
Provide citations for key studies
Include pertinent clinical
materials
 Sonogram
 MRI or CT scan
 Anatomic specimen
CLINICAL MATERIAL
EXAMPLE
CLINICAL MATERIAL
EXAMPLE
PREPARING FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATION
 Be certain of the
operation of the
projector, remote
control, and pointer
 Be certain of interfaces
 Computer projector
 Flash drive computer
 Versions of power point
PREPARING FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATION
Rehearse
Rehearse
Rehearse
Goal = perfect practice
SURVEYING THE CONFERENCE
ROOM
Review controls for room
lights
Determine optimal lighting
Set comfortable room
temperature
SURVEYING THE CONFERENCE
ROOM
 Insure that adequate
seating is available –
especially for late
arrivals
 Eliminate distracting
noises such as pagers,
cell phones, voices in
adjacent rooms, and
background music
MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION
Dress in an
appropriate
manner for the
event
Stand erect
MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION
 Speak at an
appropriate rate
and volume
 Maintain eye
contact
 Do not
continuously face
the screen
MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION
 Be appropriately
formal but not at
the expense of
spontaneity
 Avoid distracting
mannerisms
MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION
Hold the pointer steady
Illuminate the device only when
pointing at a specific feature of the
slide
Do not wave the pointer
haphazardly
MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION
Elicit
interaction
with the
audience
whenever
possible
MAKING THE PRESENTATION
HUMOROUS SLIDES
Must always be
in good taste
Must be
relevant to the
subject
MAKING THE PRESENTATION HUMOROUS
SLIDES
 Use humor to
make an
important point
 If humor alone
is the point, do
not use the slide
ANTIBIOTICS
CEPHALOSPORINS
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF
POSTOPERATIVE INFECTION
MAKING THE PRESENTATION
PODIUM AND MICROPHONE
Positioning
of the podium
Fixed
microphone
Portable
microphone
MAKING THE PRESENTATION
RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS
Written vs oral
Repeat the
question so
that all can
hear
EVALUATING THE PRESENTATION
“AFTER ACTION” ASSESSMENT
Immediately evaluate your
presentation
Correct obvious errors
Reassess when you receive your
formal evaluation and then further
modify the presentation
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
CONCLUSIONS
 Select an appropriate
topic
 ADHERE TO THE
TIME LIMIT
 Follow the written
outline
 Prepare attractive
slides
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
CONCLUSIONS
 Rehearse the
presentation
 Maximize the ambient
environment
 Engage the audience
 ADHERE TO THE
TIME LIMIT !
THE MEDICAL LECTURE
CONCLUSIONS
Be at peace with
the fact that you
cannot please
everyone no
matter how
hard you try