Nine tips to become a great public speaker in ophthalmology

When I was a cornea fellow and assistant professor at Louisiana State University, I was such a terrible public speaker that Dr. Kaufman, our chairman, told me that my “disability” would ruin my academic career. I was upset because there were no public speaking classes in New Orleans at that time.

So, I decided to watch all the best speakers in ophthalmology and took notes. Slowly but surely, I got better at it. Acquired through the school of hard knocks, here are some tips for my younger colleagues who are unaccustomed to public speaking:

1. REHEARSE, REHEARSE, REHEARSE.

Timing takes practice. So, be sure to rehearse your talk so that you don’t go over your time limit. If you do, this will be noted, and you may not be invited back. This also helps with nerves; when you are absolutely certain what you will say about each slide, it lends confidence.

If you have too much content for your assigned time slot, you will have to trim it down. There is no choice there, but it can be done. Remember that the audience is rooting for you; they want all the speakers to succeed, but especially the young ones.

2. PRINT OUT YOUR SLIDES.

Sometimes, the podium is situated such that the speaker cannot see their own slides. So, be sure to print out your slides and triple-staple them together (no paper clips) and take these to the podium. This will save you.

3. TEST EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU START.

During a break before your session starts, go up to the podium and check out the clickers, pointer, etc., so that you don’t waste precious time (and get more nervous!) trying to figure out what to use. Also, make sure to check out the steps so that you know where to access the stage.

4. DISPLAY THE CONTENT TO YOUR AUDIENCE.

When displaying the content to the audience, limit the amount of text on any one slide and use large enough font that the attendees in the last row can easily read the text. Slides should not be “busy,” ie, crammed with too many words or images. Each bullet point should contain the key word(s) that will remind you of what to say.

5. PUT A FRIEND IN THE FRONT ROW.

Having a friend in the audience will make the experience of public speaking less nerve-racking. Look down at your friend’s smiling face while you are talking. When you are more experienced, you can gaze around the room. Also, if you have a laser pointer, let your “front row friend” operate it for you. That way, no one will see your hand shaking.

6. WHEN YOU SHOW DATA, ALWAYS CREDIT AUTHORS.

Put the authors’ names on the slides you are showing in case you forget to say them out loud. Otherwise, the implication is that the data is yours — and you can make enemies for life this way.

7. DON’T WASTE CRUCIAL TIME.

If the moderator announced the title of your talk, don’t repeat it again. Also, don’t waste too much time thanking the organization, moderators, panel, etc. It is assumed that you are grateful for the invitation to present. A quick “thank you” will do. You can easily waste 45-60 seconds on these two things, which is a long time if you only have 6 minutes to speak.

8. SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE.

At the AAO and some of the larger meetings, there are two microphones at the podium. But most of the time, there is only one. Be sure to bring your face back in front of the microphone when you are speaking (another benefit of the stapled slide notes).

9. QUESTIONS AFTER YOUR TALK.

If you have the time, take the questions in a quiet manner that will not disturb the next presentation. You can usher your questioner to the back of the room or into the lobby. Especially if you have no time to stay after the talk, display your e-mail address on your last slide, and have plenty of business cards to pass out as you rush out of the room.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, these tips will help you to deliver better talks and to enjoy the experience as well. It may take some time to master public speaking, but you’ll get there, just like I did. OM

Marguerite B. McDonald, MD, FACS, is a cornea/refractive/cataract specialist with Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island in Long Island, N.Y., and a clinical professor of ophthalmology at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan and Tulane University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.