Doctors Need to Give Better Talks: How the Signature Speaker Series Can Help

by Nimmi S. Kapoor, MD, FACS

Doctors give the worst talks.

Now I understand why it is hard for me to stay awake, pay attention, and understand the point of all these talks at all these conferences I go to, and it’s not just because my phone is too distracting. Indeed, my phone distraction has spared me from some of the dreadfully boring talks I have been subjected to year after year. 

The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) Signature Speaker series helped me realize why and how some talks hit the mark, while most others don’t. The lessons learned from this experience were transformative for me. I was able to move past my own anxiety with speaking—I tend to have a bit of a shake in my voice at the beginning of every talk—and learn the tools to give a meaningful, impactful talk.

Our Motivational Speaker and Instructor, Patrick Combs, taught us how to engage with our audience, how to make the audience feel respected and important, and how to move past our own flaws, limitations, and fears, and move toward a stylistic approach that aligns with our own personal style and values. I am not a storyteller—or so I thought—but I can tell you about my patients. I am not good at telling jokes, but I can make snarky comments that will make you smile. After a few group sessions with Patrick and a personal one-on-one session, my entire approach to giving a talk shifted.

Then we had a fantastic session with Slide Expert Brigette Callahan that has forever changed how I look at slides. Did you know that a white background should be a “never?!”  It is harder for our eyes to adjust to words on a white background than if they were on a tinted or darker background. Our eyes will strain for too long, especially if the environment we are in is dimly lit. Charts and graphs are also often way too crowded with useless information and the “big picture” hidden from easy view, rather than the speaker highlighting the one line they want us to look at? If people want all the data, they will ask for it or they can read the full paper.

After I had taken the Signature Speaker sessions, I was able to experience a grand rounds where the speaker hit all the marks. He showed up early and got to know the room, greeted the participants as they arrived, and became a person to them.  Then he started telling stories, he stood near the audience instead of behind a podium, and his slides were colorful but simple with minimal words. He concluded with his stories, connecting all the dots and relating himself to us yet again. He was not talking to us, he was with us, carrying us through a journey he created for us. This doctor knows how to give a talk.

We doctors should all strive to be more like this. Rather than talking at people, we can try talking to people. People (even doctors) need relatable stories. We need to feel respected, and we don’t want to stare at overloaded graphs and charts for too long. Thank you, AWS, for creating this series, it will undoubtedly change how I give a talk, and I hope many others will have the opportunity to gain from this training program.