How to Present at Meetings

Does the thought of presenting a paper make you go cold? There are so many things to consider: getting your message across clearly, making the PowerPoint easy to read, keeping to the right length and keeping the audience riveted – enough to induce nerves even without the thought of standing up in front of a crowd and delivering your talk fluently. How to Present at Meetings, 3rd Edition, gives you practical advice on all these aspects, and more. Written by high-profile public speakers in the health sciences, it includes chapters on the 10-, 20- and 45-minute presentation, how not to make a mess of PowerPoint, and how to appear on stage.

List of Contributors vii

Preface to the Third Edition ix

Preface to the Second Edition xi

Preface to the First Edition xiii

Foreword: Wogan’s wisdom: how to ‘read’ an audience xv
Sir Terry Wogan

Chapter 1: Principles of communication 1
Angela Hall and Peter McCrorie

Chapter 2: Preparation of the talk 9
Mal Morgan and George M. Hall

Chapter 3: The three talks 17
Mal Morgan and George M. Hall

Chapter 4: Visual aids 25
George M. Hall

Chapter 5: Poster displays 35
Philip M. Sedgwick

Chapter 6: Data projection software: the hard facts 41
William Harrop-Griffiths

Chapter 7: How to appear on stage 51
Alan Maryon-Davis

Chapter 8: How to sell a message 57
Martin Godfrey

Chapter 9: How to present a talk 63
Charlotte Green

Chapter 10: How to deal with questions 67
Sir Alexander Macara

Chapter 11: How not to give a presentation 75
Richard Smith

Chapter 12: How to chair a session 81
Roger Horton

Index 87

“The experienced speaker can get away with ignoring some of the points suggested, but this is a book that should be read by everyone called upon to give a talk and I cannot recommend it too highly.” (Chromatographia, 1 August 2013)

George Hall MBBS, PhD DSc, FRCA, Department of Anaesthesia, St George's, University of London, London, UK.

Neville Robinson MBCh, FRCA, Department of Anaesthesia, Northwick Park and St Mark's Hospitals, Harrow, London, UK.

There are so many things to consider: getting your message across clearly, making the PowerPoint easy to read, keeping to time and holding the attention of the audience.

How to Present at Meetings 3rd edition, gives you practical advice on all these aspects, and more. Written by high-profile public speakers in the health sciences, it includes chapters on the 10-, 20- and 45-minute presentation, PowerPoint, and how to appear on stage.

The third edition has been brought right up to date and has new chapters on advanced PowerPoint, how to present a poster - and new for this edition - a Foreword by Sir Terry Wogan, who imparts his wit and wisdom on the elusive skills of public speaking.

With these new features the third edition of How to Present at Meetings will be even more compelling for all health professionals looking for guidance on how to deliver their paper successfully.