“Giving a Talk” Talk
Paul Sutton, PhD, MD
Associate Professor
General Internal Medicine
University of Washington
Overview
• Public speaking tips
• Tips for effective PowerPoint
presentations
• Presentation of data
• The delivery
Public Speaking Tips
• Tell ‘em
• Tell them what you are going to tell
them
• Tell them
• Tell them what you have told them
Overview
• Public speaking tips
• Tips for effective PowerPoint
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
PowerPoint’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
PowerPoint Tips
• Use PowerPoint
– 95% market share
– Presentation software options:
• PC/Mac/UNIX: OpenOffice by Sun
• Mac: Keynote
– Can be difficult to share
– Potential for 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 PowerPoint”
http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/sld006.htm, accessed 4/14/09
http://canadiancpd.medscape.com/content/2002/00/43/71/437182/437182_fig.html
Accessed 7/2/2009
PowerPoint Tips
• Don’t forget to stretch/change gears
• Attention span may be 10-15 minutes
• Various techniques to re-engage the
audience
Overview
• Lecture tips and effective habits
• Tips for effective PowerPoint
presentations
• Presentation of data
• The delivery
Presentation of Data
• PowerPoint 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
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 PowerPoint
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?pageId=809
– Very practical, expert opinion
•
Tufte ER. The cognitive style of PowerPoint: pitching out corrupts
within. 2nd edition. Graphics Press (Cheshire, CT). 2006.
– An essay on the limitations and cognitive shackles of PowerPoint
– Available at the bookstore for $7
•
Keller J. Killing me microsoftly with PowerPoint. Chicago
Tribune, January 5, 2003. Accessed at
http://www.gbuwizards.com/files/chicago-tribune-julia-keller-05january-2003.htm
– Martin Luther King and Robert Frost à la PowerPoint
•
Collins J. Giving a PowerPoint presentation: the art of
communicating effectively. Radiographics 2004. 24:1185-92.