THE FELLOWS’ CORNER
Powerful PowerPoint presentations
As fellows in gastroenterology, we are often asked to make presentations during our training. Most programs mandate a presentation on at least one, if not all, of the following: a grand rounds topic of choice, a case report, a summary of one’s own research project, or a recent study from a leading GI journal. Preparing and delivering these types of presentations during fellowship is important, because it prepares us for future presentationsdwhen it really counts! No matter what avenue our fellowship training takes us, we will almost certainly need to give a meaningful and important presentation at some point in the future. In this month’s section of the Fellows’ Corner, Dr. Francis Giardiello discusses the keys to a powerful and successful PowerPoint (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash) presentation. Jonathan M. Buscaglia, MD Fellows’ Corner Editor Postdoctoral Fellow Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, Maryland, USA
better the grade. Resist this temptation! Present the most important facts. Other speakers present every article on a subject and show often conflicting and incomplete data. These speakers place the responsibility on audience members to synthesize conclusions. Bad idea! It is the speaker’s job to sort through information and present cogent, wellsupported conclusions with judicious use of facts and figures. Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell them what you told them. In practical terms, the second slide of the presentation should
Key Points d d d
d
In my judgment, great presenters are made not born. After 2 decades of giving and hearing countless presentations, including those on public speaking, here are some key concepts.
d d d
Keep it simple Less is more Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell them what you told them Practice, practice, practice, practice No more than 8 lines per slide Do a real dress rehearsal Anticipate the questions
GENERAL CONCEPTS The presenter must make every audience member understand the material conveyed. Consequently, the best strategy is the KISS principaldkeep it short and simple. It means keep the diction, slides, message, and concepts simple. Complex ideas can be separated into smaller, more understandable, units.
show the topics to be covered and the last slide should summarize the take-home points that follow from the second topic slide.
Presentation
Copyright ª 2006 by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 0016-5107/$32.00 doi:10.1016/j.gie.2006.05.020
Practice, practice, practice, practice, etc. Practicing a presentation (out loud and standing up) 10 or more times is par for the course. Practice is important for several reasons. First, record the time of your presentation. Speakers are given a specific time limit. A mortal speaker sin is to run overtime. You will not be asked to speak again. After several rehearsals, you will know the length of the presentation. If it is too long, take out material. Second, simplify your diction with each practice run. Strive to speak as clearly and simply as possible (ie, sentences composed of a subject, a verb, and predicatednot a million subjunctive clauses).
www.giejournal.org
Volume 64, No. 3 : 2006 GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY 393
Organization Less is more. Novice speakers attempt to include every fact and nuance of a subject into the presentation: ‘‘the term paper strategy.’’ The more I write, the longer the paper, the
Powerful PowerPoint presentations
Giardiello
With each practice, develop better and simpler ways of orally and graphically presenting the material. This will result in discarding and/or conflating slides. Third, pick up mistakes on the slides and edit them. Fourth, recognize gaps in the logical flow of the presentation and revise the presentation. No more than 8 lines per slide. This rule forces presenters to be succinct. The audience cannot grasp more than 8 lines per slide. Slides should be written in outline form (not in complete sentences), with the speaker filling in the details. For poor English speakers, sentences can be used so that the audience can read the lecture from the slides without listening to the speaker. However, one needs to question the appropriateness of an oral presentation, or the speaker, in this situation. White on blue, no red. Make slides with a solid blue background, white lettering, and yellow titles. That is where to start. Departures from this format (heterogeneous or pictured background, other colors) are less audience-pleasing and increase distraction. Stop editorializing. Do not digress verbally. Stick to what you have practiced; essentially, what is on the slides. Fill in the points on the slides with clear and declarative sentences. Beware of joking. Be amiable but serious. As a novice speaker, resist attempting jokes or injecting humor with cartoons. These devices are difficult to pull off and best left to experienced presenters. Pace the talk. Avoid rapid-fire diction. This is a fatal mistake, which will quickly lose the audience. Speak slower instead of faster, but move with alacrity through your slides. Insert transitions. Use title slides throughout the presentation to alert the audience to topic changes. Do not read from a script. Real speakers do not read. It results in a rapid and less comprehensible presentation. It removes the purpose and the value of the speaker, which is to optimize communication through colors of voice, gestic-
ulation, and real-time thinking through of the subject matter together with the audience. Be animated. Use your hands, and raise and lower the pitch of your voice. Avoid monotone diction. Look at the audience. Avoid turning away from the audience. Look over the laptop and visually engage different audience members. Do a real dress rehearsal. Before giving a presentation, become familiar with the podium. Know the location of the presentation; the operation of the computer, the pointer, and the microphone; and how to change slides before getting up to speak. If possible, practice the presentation the night or the early morning before at the podium. This minimizes surprises that might occur, familiarizes you with the surroundings, and helps ameliorate anxiety.
394 GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY Volume 64, No. 3 : 2006
www.giejournal.org
After the presentation Anticipate the questions. Abraham Lincoln once said about public speaking that he spent a third of the preparation thinking about what he was going to say and two thirds of the time figuring out how to answer the questions. Write 10 to 15 anticipated questions and practice your responses. Break a leg!
DISCLOSURE None of the authors of this month’s issue of the Fellows’ Corner have any disclosures to state. Francis M. Giardiello, MD John G. Rangos, Sr. Professor of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, Maryland, USA
