Preparing to Present: How to Land an EMS Speaking Gig

Ray Barishansky is a featured speaker at EMS World Expo 2016, scheduled for October 3–7 in New Orleans, LA. Register today at EMSWorldExpo.com.

You are listening to a presenter at a conference and think, "I have a great idea for a presentation, and I can do it at least as well as this guy (or girl)!" Sound familiar? Well, there is a lot to know about presenting at an EMS conference, and this article is my best effort to let you know what types of conferences are out there, what they are looking for, how to develop your presentation proposals and other aspects of the EMS speaking game.

Coming Up with Ideas

One of the first points that should be addressed in an article about delivering presentations also happens to be a question I regularly hear asked of speakers: Where do you get your ideas? My ideas generally come from dealing with a situation I haven't dealt with before, being part of an initiative that is new to me and I think would be of interest to an EMS audience, watching a co-worker (this can be a supervisor, manager or other) become involved in something and how they handle it, or even when just doing nothing.

Presentation ideas can focus on clinical aspects (advanced, basic or even intermediate life support-specific), supervisory techniques and/or management strategies (be prepared to back up your idea with some results seen at your EMS agency), detailing an educational initiative (again, show how this would work in real life or has worked), and the list goes on.

My advice to the new speaker is to present what you know. If you are a paramedic working in a rural area and have significant experience with long transport times, talk about that. If you are a manager and have implemented a new time-management strategy or an effective electronic patient documentation system, present on that, and so on.

Similarly, it's always important to do your homework prior to developing and delivering a presentation. Aside from adequately researching your topic, see what has been presented before in this regard, and always document your sources and give proper credit when using a quote or someone else's work.

Submitting a Speaking Proposal

Various EMS conferences (local, regional, state and/or national level) seek enthusiastic speakers with new, previously undelivered topics for their conferences. If you want to speak, keep your eyes open in various list-serves, websites, etc, for conferences conducting a call for speakers. The calls for presentations usually go out several months before the actual conference. Your proposal should include, but not be limited to:

• Presenter's name
• Credentials (should include both EMS certifications and academic degrees, e.g. NREMT-P, BA)
• Title and affiliation
• Relevant contact information, including mailing address, work phone, home phone, cell and e-mail address
• Conferences where you have presented in the past and what presentations you delivered (if applicable)
• Conference you are scheduled to present at in the near future and what topics you will be covering (if applicable)
• Learning objectives (at least 3 or 4) for your presentation
• A brief, to-the-point description of each presentation, the audience they will appeal to (BLS, ALS, educators, management, general audience, etc.) and the presentation length.

You want people to read your presentation title and description and say, "I would love to see that," so take time to find an appropriate and eye-catching title. (One of my presentations that details the need for a harmonious relationship between EMS and public health authorities in pandemic planning and response is titled "Plagues are a Team Sport," a suggestion from a friend after I queried for ideas on Facebook.) Your lecture description should also tell potential attendees exactly what you will be presenting. It's not good to read a post-presentation evaluation and see that your audience felt this wasn't the presentation they read about and/or signed up for.

Many conferences have specific forms they want filled out if you want to be considered—so just do it. Don't just send a resume and some lecture titles. There are many speakers out there who will fill out the required paperwork correctly. Be one of them.

Be sure you get a contract for speaking services. In addition to covering both parties legally, it will confirm topics and length of time for your presentations, as well as what you are entitled to (this may include travel arrangements, hotel and other costs and an honorarium).

Preparation for the Presentation

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once joked, "Most of us fear public speaking more than death. If we are at a funeral, that means we would prefer to be in the casket rather than delivering the eulogy." It doesn't have to be like that for you if you follow a few simple rules.

Speaking from experience, make sure you've reviewed the entire PowerPoint several times in advance and have timed your presentation. This last point shouldn't be taken lightly: Practice your presentation to ensure the timing is down pat. Newer speakers have the potential to come up short on time because nerves make them talk fast.

Also, and this tip is not for the shy, send your PowerPoint presentation to a few trusted friends to review with a critical eye. If they laugh at the jokes and appreciate the content, chances are an audience will as well.

PowerPoint is an easy-to-learn, useful tool that can be your best friend or a disaster. As a presenter, you need to know what it can do, as well as its limitations. Watch the colors (this applies to both background and font color), as well as various animations (if you cut and paste, they may not work).

Keep the font and graphics appropriate for the size of the audience/venue, and, if at any time you wonder if a particular slide will be "appropriate," cut it from the presentation. Also, and you may have heard this before or been a victim of it, do not read the slides word for word. The audience knows how to read—they want additional information to what is on the slides.

Finally, always have a back-up plan (this can include handouts for the audience and/or note cards for you). I was speaking at a regional EMS conference in Texas when a storm caused a power outage in the building. Thank goodness I knew my material, or the few minutes until the power came back on would have been quite hairy.

Top Tips for Game Day

You have all, no doubt, experienced a wide variety of speakers yourself and been bored by some, entertained or educated by others, and probably have some advice to offer as well. While reading a recent Harvard Business Review I saw a short article titled, “Five Presentation Mistakes Everyone Makes” by Nancy Duarte, and thought about its applicability to the EMS conferences where I have had the opportunity to attend or actually speak, as well as for those who aspire to speak. Some of the relevant points from the article are outlined below:

1. Failing to Engage Emotionally: How many times have you been sitting in a presentation at an EMS conference and thought, “What am I doing here?” or “This is nothing like what the brochure said this presentation was going to be.” Chances are the speaker didn’t engage you emotionally; the speaker lost his crowd’s attention by simply “stating the facts” or reading from the PowerPoint. Instead, what EMS speakers need to do is infuse their own personal experiences into the words that are written on the board behind them. This brings the material to life and gets the audience involved. This can include examples from when things have gone well or even when they have not gone so well, and should offer the speaker’s perspective and experience for the audience to learn from.   
2. Asking Too Much of Your Slides: PowerPoint can be a great tool and has some good flexibility as a presentation adjunct, but it can also be a crutch, and a good presenter needs to identify what they’re trying to accomplish with it. Do only that, nothing more. Don’t overload the slides with every word you want to say and every point you want to cover. (The presentation world calls these "slideuments.”) Be ready to expound meaningfully on the content of the slides while, at the same time, knowing where you are in your presentation and what the audience is seeing on the screen. Also, watch the colors (this applies to both background and font color), as well as various animations (if you cut and paste, they may not work) and keep your fonts and graphics appropriate for the size of the audience/venue.
3. Trotting Out Tired Visuals: Nothing gets eyes a-glazing like a visual cliché and by now we have all seen them time and time again. Want your presentation to stand out (in a good way) from the others your audience has seen? Brainstorm lots of visual concepts—and throw away the first ones that came to mind. They're the ones that occur to everyone else, too. That's why you've seen them a million times in other people's presentations. Generate several ideas for each concept you want to illustrate, and you'll work your way toward originality.  
4. Speaking in Jargon: If I could, I would rename this point “Understanding your audience.” For us EMS folks, this can include, but isn’t limited to, BLS level personnel, ALS level personnel, educators, supervisory personnel, managers, etc. Each one of these groups comes to a particular presentation with specific things they expect to get from it, and for the most part, these things aren’t the same. Therefore, knowing who you are talking to and how to craft the messages is of utmost importance. I find this time and again in my management presentations, where more experienced managers will be looking for something different than what new managers are looking for, which is still different than what those aspiring to supervisory or managerial positions are looking for. One of the caveats that goes hand-in-hand with the aforementioned point is humor—know your audience and what they will tolerate regarding humor. If, for even a moment, you have to wonder if you will offend an audience with a particular joke, anecdote or slide, take it out. To this point, you may want to send your PowerPoint presentation to a few trusted friends to review with a critical eye; if they laugh at the jokes and appreciate the content; chances are an audience will as well.
5. Going Over or Under Your Allotted Time: This is a big no-no. Understand that both conference organizers, as well as the audience itself, have an expectation of you as a presenter. If you are asked to speak for an hour, then you should attempt to get as close to that hour as possible; the same holds true for any time period you have been allotted. The secret to this is practice, practice, practice. Practice your presentation, your timing and even what you plan to insert as amusing anecdotes. You can choose to practice by yourself, in front of a trusted friend, or even record yourself and then play it back—but you must practice. Of course, you will also want to plan some time for questions. Also—as a wise man once said at the beginning of a presentation I attended—the mind will only absorb what the butt will endure.

Post-Conference

After the conference, there are still some ways to follow up, including:

• Re-evaluate your performance, including choreography (transitions, walking, gestures, etc.), the overall operation of materials (PPT, sound bites, videos) and audience participation
• Always read attendee reviews/evaluations after the conference (or ask the organizers for a synopsis), and be sure to use both positive and negative feedback to improve your presentation.

Conclusion

Speaking in public can be a nerve-wracking experience filled with lots of work developing your presentation, practicing it and perfecting it. Following the steps outlined above is integral if you are to turn an otherwise average presentation into one that will be filled with educational nuggets for the audience.

Deciding to develop and present on various topics in EMS is a large and time-consuming undertaking that will undoubtedly involve spending lots of "quality time" with your computer. This decision should be made for the right reason (money ain't the right reason) and with the understanding that the final product has the potential to be anticlimactic.

Part of the advice I give prospective speakers who are looking to get more confident and gain experience is to practice at smaller events like community awareness/education events first, prior to moving to regional, state or national venues. Additionally, many community colleges have short classes on public speaking that are very reasonably priced and can assist potential speakers.

Gifted speakers who develop timely presentations will ultimately have audiences walking away feeling they have learned something from the presentation as well as thirsting to learn more; can you live up to that challenge?

Although newer speakers have to look for opportunities, chances are, if you do a good job, conference organizers will ask you to return. Note that you should always have at least a few new presentations to offer so you won't be delivering the same material as the previous year. Also, speaking at one conference often results in offers to speak at other conferences.

References

Duarte N. Five Presentation Mistakes Everyone Makes. HBR Blog Network, blogs.hbr.org.

Raphael M. Barishansky, MPH, MS, CPM, is a solutions-driven consultant working with EMS agencies, emergency management and public health organizations on complex issues including leadership development, strategic planning, policy implementation and regulatory compliance.