Professionally Speaking
Public Speaking for Health Professionals
- 113 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About This Book
Your knees are shaking, your throat is dry, and out in front of you in the Lerenbaum Room of the Ramada Inn is the 167th Annual Meeting of the Tucson Dentists Weekend Warrior Organization. You step to the podium, there's a short crackle of microphone feedback, and all eyes are on you. What do you say? Are you prepared enough? Will your audience love you? Hate you? If these are your fears, put them away and open up Professionally Speaking: Public Speaking for Health Professionals. In it, you'll learn how to turn weak knees and wishy-washy introductions into confident gestures and words of wisdom. Packed with examples and proven tips and techniques from the front lines of public convention speaking, this helpful volume has everything you need to transform your next presentation from so-so to successful.Professionally Speaking will help you in both professional speaking and teaching scenarios. You'll find its practical advice and helpful guidelines will enhance your performance at the podium by one hundred percent. Specifically, you'll get page after page of useful direction in these and other important but seldom-talked-about areas:
- how to select, write, and deliver a talk
- use of voice
- speech preparation and the use of slides
- icebreakers
- giving good introductions and avoiding trail-offs
- keeping on the audience's "good side"
- chalk talks
- the proper use of humor
Anyone who has faced or will face the potential disaster of addressing a large audience of colleagues--mental health professionals, dentists, physicians, pharmacists, for example--will want to consult Professionally Speaking before his or her next scheduled speech. Useful as an introductory guide for beginners or a supplementary text for seasoned veterans, this practical, one-of-a-kind look at public speaking will change the way you see your audience and improve the way they listen to you.
Frequently asked questions
Information
Chapter 1
Types of Professional Talks
THE FOUR TYPES OF TALKS
Memorized Talk
Manuscript Talk
Extemporaneous Talk
Impromptu Talk
Chapter 2
Writing a Professional Speech
WRITING THE TALK
- A manuscript for speech should contain shorter sentences, and they must have absolute clarity.
- The manuscript should contain both simple and compound sentences. Complex sentences may be used from time to time for variety, but the author must be absolutely sure that they are clear and have no confusing parts to them. Use fewer of them than in a manuscript for publication. (This paragraph is a good example of the mix of sentences.)
- A manuscript for speech should contain stronger, punchier words.
- Watch out for “whiches.” These generally prolong sentences and confuse the listener. It is much better to make separate sentences because the listener may have difficulty identifying the antecedent of the “which.” Try reading to someone the following sentence: “The patient vomited and I gave him medication which caused him to be very thirsty.” Just in reading this, confusion abounds. How much more complicated it is to decipher this statement purely by listening.
- Watch out for “this” or “that” when they are used to refer to a complex antecedent. They present the same problem as “which.” Think about listening to this sentence: “I gave the patient penicillin and a venoclysis as treatment for infection. This complicated his hospital stay.” What does “this” refer to? Penicillin? Venoclysis? Infection? If it's ambiguous when reading it, think about how it sounds.
- For similar reasons, a speaker should never make references using words such as “former,” “latter,” “above,” “previous,” or similar words. Again, in reading, you can look back to see what the word refers to. But in listening, there is no looking back. These references are to previously spoken ideas, and the listener may already have lost track of them. It is far better to repeat, in a capsule word or phrase, the idea that you are referring to so that there is no question in the listener's mind which idea you mean. You can say, “that program” instead of “the former” or “my therapeutic approach” rather than “the latter.”
- The same care applies to personal pronouns.
- Avoid stumble words. These are words with which a particular speaker may have difficulty because of the combination of vowels and consonants that occur. Not everyone has the same difficulties in speaking, and you will have to identify those words or phrases you are likely to stumble on. There are people who can say, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,” without making a single mistake and say it as fast as necessary. On the other hand, there are people who stumble over simple combinations of words such as “especially susceptible,” which is one of my stumble phrases. This is an example of why it is necessary to know yourself and your speaking abilities.
- Avoid sibilants. Even the best of speakers gets into difficulty with the “S” sounds, particularly if they occur in series; it may sound like the speaker is whistling. This is made even worse if he or she is using a microphone. Words such as “lawlessness” or “uselessness” should be eliminated if you have the least bit of difficulty with them. “Especially susceptible,” referred to previously, is another “whistler.” Other phrases should be substituted for them. Learn to know your own speech patterns well.
- Transition words should be used; they greatly help the listeners' understanding. Introductory words such as “now,” “however,” and others should be used to tie one thought into another for clarity to the listener.
- Simplify all difficult words and symbols. This means substituting simple words for complex words when they mean the same thing, such as “breathe” for “respire.” (This is just as applicable in writing for publication.) It also means sometimes using a nonverbal symbol or gesture to help the listener understand. For example, if you are discussing a complex chemical formula, you don't want to repeat the entire formula symbol by symbol each time you say it or use a complex chemical term. If there is not a key word that will describe it, then perhaps writing the formula on a blackboard or projecting it on a screen and pointing to it each time will make it clear. Or, you might refer to it each time by such a term as “this compound.”
- In writing for listening, you should only use the first and second person (I, me, you) and never impersonal words such as “one,” “this researcher,” or “this writer.” These are stilted and confusing. Always use the active voice: this is the way we talk in our normal conversations, and this is the way you should talk from the platform.
- Although references to other publications are frequent in published articles, they appear to be wasted in most talks, unless the publication or writer is of universal stature and known by everybody. Quoting names that are unknown or unrecognizable to most of your audience will not impress them, but it might make them think you are a name-dropper. Allusions to unknown persons or to unknown events or to information known only to the speaker and a specific group will lose the audience and have no value whatsoever. On the other hand, referring to or quoting a universally known authority will be understood and may give authority to your talk.
WRITING FOR OTHERS
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- THE HAWORTH PRESS
- Full Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- CONTENTS
- Foreword
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Types of Professional Talks
- Chapter 2 Writing a Professional Speech
- Chapter 3 Preparing the Manuscript
- Chapter 4 The Setting
- Chapter 5 The Speaker
- Chapter 6 The Talk
- Chapter 7 Voice and Delivery
- Chapter 8 Reading a Speech
- Chapter 9 Use of Audiovisual Aids
- Chapter 10 Introductions
- Chapter 11 Being a Program Moderator
- Chapter 12 Humor in Professional Speaking
- Epilogue
- References
- Index