The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 NewsACR Convergence
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
      • Psoriatic Arthritis
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Rosenbaum’s 5 ‘Rules’ for Public Speaking

Rosenbaum’s 5 ‘Rules’ for Public Speaking

July 12, 2022 • By James T. Rosenbaum, MD

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
TZIDO SUN / shutterstock.com

TZIDO SUN / shutterstock.com

Does anyone know why the band Fleetwood Mac might have been an expert in medical communication?

You Might Also Like
  • Pump Up Your Public Speaking
  • Speaking Out for IPAB Repeal
  • HIPAA Privacy Rules Bring New Enforcement Guidelines
Explore This Issue
July 2022

Physicians and other medical providers have multiple roles; one obvious task is to provide advice. And for this advice to be valuable, we need to be good listeners; we need to absorb data from multiple sources, which include journals, textbooks and patients; and we need to synthesize data and observations to create a plan. Perhaps most important, we need to communicate. Most commonly this communication is with patients, but it can also be with staff, friends, family or colleagues. And for many of us, it takes the form of lectures or written communication.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Recently a peer asked me to share with other faculty advice on how to give a lecture. At first, I was a bit intimidated to portray myself as a role model. But once I accepted the task, I confess that I enjoyed formulating some observations I have made during four decades in academia. I call the advice Rosenbaum’s “Rules,” and if you are patient enough to read to the end, you will appreciate why “Rules” is written in quotation marks.

The 5 “Rules”

Rule number 1: The only time you have the audience’s full attention is when you begin; consequently, the first words out of your mouth are also the most important.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

I tested this nearly 30 years ago, when my daughter asked me for advice about what to say for a speech at her bat mitzvah. We hit upon starting with a riddle: “How is my bat mitzvah related to my Torah portion, my Uncle Ricky and the Metropolitan Opera?” I guess it does not exactly compare to “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times,” but to have stayed in my memory for three decades suggests that at least it did create some interest (for me if for no one else) in what was to follow. (I defer to readers as to whether I have fulfilled this goal in this essay. And don’t ask me to solve the riddle; neither my daughter nor I remember her Torah portion.)

Rule number 2: Tell the audience what you are going to say, tell it and then tell them what you said.

Almost always when I give a talk, an early slide is labeled Outline or Agenda. This helps provide structure for me and for the listener.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

We deceive ourselves if we think that anyone in the audience will retain all that we have shared. You will have achieved success if the audience absorbs one or two key points. Don’t be shy about stating and restating what you perceive to be the most important information.

Rule number 3: Know your audience.

If you are lecturing in North Dakota, say something to show that you recognize and appreciate North Dakota. If you are lecturing about polychondritis and an audience member has published an important paper on polychondritis, give that audience member a shoutout. Acknowledging the experience, wisdom and expertise of your peers is simply good behavior. Showing that you admire your hosts will make your audience more accepting of any advice you share.

Rule number 4: Active learning is always more effective than passive learning.

One solution to ensure your audience is paying attention is to have a quiz at the start of the talk and guarantee the answers will be embedded in the lecture. Another solution is to make use of audience response devices. And another gambit is simply to ask such rhetorical questions as, “How would you approach this problem?” The more the audience feels engaged and empowered, the more likely they will retain at least a portion of your message.

Rule number 5: Fashion your own unique style.

This rule is exemplified by a behavioral science experiment conducted at the Boston Museum of Science with preschool children.1 Cognitive science faculty from Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a toy with four colored tubes: red, purple, black and blue. The gadget was capable of four actions: it could squeak, it could play music, it could illuminate itself, and it could act like a mirror. If the experimenter demonstrated one of those attributes and then handed the toy to the child, most children focused on that one function, repeatedly triggered the action and soon got bored. But if the experimenter just handed the toy to the child, most children explored the toy, rapidly learned all four functions and spent more time in play than when the show-and-tell teaching approach was used.

You can interpret this study many ways. But to me, the lesson is that telling someone what to do or how to behave is constraining. It is far better to allow someone to explore and find the path that best fits their personality, interests and skills. That is why I placed rules in quotation marks in my title. The only rule for optimal communication, be it with a patient, in a scholarly paper or in a medical lecture, is to find your own style. Find what works for you. And try your best to assess objectively if you have succeeded with your own unique approach.

So, ironically, my advice is that the best advice is to ignore my advice. Rules are indeed made to be broken. Or, in the words of Fleetwood Mac, “Go your own way.” 


James T. Rosenbaum, MD, MACR, is the Richard Chenoweth Chair Emeritus, Legacy Devers Eye Institute, Portland, Ore.

Reference

  1. Finn E. Don’t show, don’t tell? Cognitive scientists find that when teaching young children, there is a trade-off between direct instruction and independent exploration. MIT News. 2011 Jun 30.

Pages: 1 2 | Multi-Page

Filed Under: Career Development, Education & Training, Education & Training Tagged With: lecture, public speakingIssue: July 2022

You Might Also Like:
  • Pump Up Your Public Speaking
  • Speaking Out for IPAB Repeal
  • HIPAA Privacy Rules Bring New Enforcement Guidelines
  • HHS Enforces Stricter Rules on HIPAA

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

Patient & Caregiver Resources

Find a rheumatology provider. Learn about your condition and how to live with it. English and Spanish language resources.

View Patient & Caregiver Resources »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use / Cookie Preferences

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2023 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)