Presentation skills

To browse other articles on a range of HSL topics, see the wiki index.

Introduction

See also BOPPPS Model | Evidence-based teaching for academic librarians | Social media landscape | Teaching health library users

Advice for presenters

"...write a clear opening to get your audience ie. physicians to listen"

Make it relevant to their practice or research. Don't use lots of library jargon.

Health librarian-led presentations to physicians and health professionals should:

• convey enthusiasm about the library service being discussed
• combine humour and relevant, tailored information
• do not exceed your time-limit. (Finish early, if possible, if talking for one hour, or more.)
• introduce your presentation with your agenda and objectives clearly stated.
• focus on no more than three major points with supporting information.
• have short concise powerpoints, free of unnecessary details or content.
• present with a clear, strong voice, audible from the back of the room.

A question and answer period is customary following rounds. Include a period of constructive criticism if you are presenting research findings.

Evidence-based lectures (EBL) - Proposed Five Steps

In academic hospital environments, physicians, residents (and librarians) prepare for and deliver rounds and lectures on a regular basis. Are the five (5) steps of evidence-based health care applicable to public lectures? Central to EBHC is converting information needs into answerable questions, and so it is with evidence-based lectures. However, evidence-based presenting begins and ends with considering your audience (not your patients).

Five Steps of Evidence-Based Lectures (EBL

1. Formulate a question based on your goal, time allotted, & audience.
2. Search the medical literature, & retrieve evidence to support goals.
3. Develop outline, handouts or create powerpoints (finding media or medical images).
4. Assess. Reflect. Add humour. Check copyright.
5. Make adjustments. Visualize success of lecture. Anticipate audience reaction.

Check with your local medical librarian should you need help with your searches, or to resolve copyright issues for presentations (especially using images found on Google). It might be advisable to use mediawiki or other images in the public domain.

Fifteen minute talks about library services

Most physicians appreciate an agenda during a grand rounds presentation. Health librarians are therefore encouraged to spend some time organizing their presentation along the lines of a meeting with clearly outlined activities:

1. Tell them what your talk will cover/how long it will be
2. Introduce your topic, and in fifty words or less, provide an overview using your agenda;
3. Present your talk, focussing on two or three key concepts.
4. Use computers and AV materials skillfully, and speak to the back of the room.
5. Contextualize your presentation and why it's important to health groups.

End your presentation by gauging what the audience wants you to emphasize. Welcome the opportunity to speak again. Provide your business cards, e-mail address and blog for follow-up. Reference librarians are professional research specialists; so if you can be as clear as possible about your purpose, remind people that you can aid in the retrieval of information resources to support research.

Icebreakers

• play "Is This a Real Journal Article?" come up with 5 or 6 crazy titles and make up one and throw it in the mix
• show slide with titles listed 1 - 6 and ask audience to pick the one "made up"
• after they have their number in mind, ask who picked #1 then scroll to slide #1's title, abstract; point out something funny - Example: Are Orthopaedic Surgeons Really Gorillas? (point out that they don't have an actual glove size for a gorilla to compare this to)
• before teaching OVID/PubMed and Medical Subject Headings, put the funny article title test for measuring stretchability of melted cheese (PMID 12512629) in an envelope labelled - "Open With Care - Could Make a MeSH"
• labels (cut out paper with giant fonts) of the medical subject headings for that article and throw in a few "strays" like Mozzarella / stretchability and Stretch Factor, etc; say there are 9 real Medical Subject Headings & 5 fake and work in groups to figure it out
• good lead into discussion of Medical Subject Headings and searching using Controlled Vocabulary
• ask people to stand and stretch then sit down, and ask what's the first thought they have when hearing the word library
• ask who has used Google Scholar, PubMed, CINAHL to cover; teach boolean and ask what each operator does; ask what boolean operator I should use;
• in basic search strategies, discuss standard headings and MeSH; discuss in context of PICO
• use Maimonides quote "Knowledge is immense and the spirit of man can extend indefinitely to enrich itself daily with new requirements. Today he can discover his errors of yesterday and tomorrow he can obtain a new light on what he thinks himself sure of today."
• engage students in conversation like a professor might; apply concept and use patient scenario to come up with PICO P, I, C and O
• examine records from CINAHL and PubMed, subject terms and how keywords can be used for search
• examine an article and critically appraise it, looking for basic things to evaluate study