Volume 05 / Issue 03 / September 2017
Page 48
boa.ac.uk
JTO Features
High Impact Presentations for Surgeons Lisa Hadfield-Law Effective presentation skills are invaluable and, like surgery, the key to success is planning. Before planning, ask yourself: “What is this presentation for”? Is it to inform, educate, persuade, or motivate? Having defined the purpose in 10 words, you can plan how to move your audience from where they are, to where they should be: from A to B. What are the obstacles? Presenters everywhere make the same mistakes: no clear point; no audience benefit; poor flow; too much detail and too long. The commonest mistake is the ‘data dump’: the belief that, for the audience to understand anything, they must be told everything. It’s like being asked the time and responding with instructions for building a clock. Mountains of information are then crammed into a presentation and “delivered”, without straightening the A to B route. Point B should address issues the audience cares about, not the ones you THINK they should care about.
Planning is the key
Lisa Hadfield-Law
Who will be there? Define what they should DO when they leave your presentation, whether you want them to change their practice or give you a job. Once
your outcomes are articulated, you can dump data onto a page, and delete anything, which doesn’t contribute to the A to B route. Present your most convincing arguments first, so the audience can see how all the elements: relevant evidence, data and methods fit together. Newscasters begin with the most relevant information.
Visual aids Visual aids should be visible and aid. Most overload slides with images and text, hoping to have all bases covered. Always start preparation with a blank slide, so you are forced to consider everything you include. Use sharp contrast: light text on a dark background or vice versa. Leave blank space: you don’t need to fill every area. Remember: a picture paints a thousand words. Numbers should be presented visually, rather
than in tables. Graphs are an opportunity to provide a quick visual of your content. Your presentation is NOT the place to go into minute methodological detail, but an opportunity share the most important elements. So, no more than five eye sweeps per slide: the number of times eyes must go across the screen. Text should be in sans serif fonts eg Arial or Verdana which are quicker to read than Times New Roman. It’s also quicker to read lower case font THAN UPPER CASE. Size should be a minimum of 24 to 28 points. The universal “thank you” slide has no place as, what the audience hears last, they will remember. Make sure you end with your three key messages. So, powerful presentations take planning to get the audience directly from A to B, with high impact visual aids. They can’t read your slides, listen to you, take notes and analyse content at the same time. Start with a preview of your conclusions to engage and end with a strong call to action. For other tips from Lisa on presenting effectively can be found online at www.grasshopperhosting.co.uk/hl/06_Resources/ Resources/PowerfulPresentations. mp4. n Lisa Hadfield-Law, RGN, MSc, FAcadMEd and Education Advisor to the BOA.