Now Presenting: Presenting and executing successful, communicative presentations
Planning Your Presentations
The first key to effective presentations is tailoring to particular audiences. Analyze your audience and address their interests and perspective. Consider whom you will be talking to – professionals, students, an audience of mixed ages, or mostly adults? Will all of the people attending your presentation come from your immediate community? Give examples of EMS responses that they can relate to. If possible, phone several people who plan to attend in advance to assess what they hope to learn from your talk. This will also help you determine how to best structure the presentation and lead the workshop discussion.
Don’t forget that the best way to achieve the results you desire is to give local examples. The audience will be more interested if you can include examples of real EMS calls or information specific to the community. Explain what EMS is and how it works in your community. Be prepared to answer common questions, such as if individuals have a choice as to what hospital they are taken to, or if friends and relatives can ride along with them. Use real data from your organization to show what kinds of emergency calls members of your community most frequently make.
Finally, emphasize how to use the EMS system quickly and responsibly. Be sure to explain how EMS can be contacted in your area. Be sure to recognize certain areas using 911 versus areas using seven-digit numbers. Also, provide information regarding when an ambulance is actually necessary, and cite examples of when misuse of the system has impeded response to serious emergencies.
Keeping the Audience Involved
People are more likely to remember information presented if the style of presentation is conversational: Let the audience know their participation is invited and anticipated. Start by asking the audience what they hope to learn from the workshop. Later, ask them to share personal experiences to illustrate the situations that you have been discussing. Plan to cover certain topics, but respond to your audience by expanding on their responses. Below are some examples of questions to lead a discussion:
- Who would you call in a medical emergency?
- What constitutes an “emergency?”
- Do you keep emergency numbers near your phone?
- What information should you give the dispatcher when calling for help?
- What should you do until help arrives?
- Does everyone in your dorm know this information?
Presentation Topics
Use the following talking points to help in developing your workshop presentation. They are written in conversational style to help in adapting them to your presentation:
Introduction: Oftentimes, if first aid and emergency medical care can be provided quickly, death and disability can be reduced or prevented. This community provides pre-hospital care for medical emergencies via EMS. The purpose of the presentation is to help understand how to efficiently access the EMS system.
What is EMS: EMS stands for emergency medical services…a life-saving system providing prehospital care. Our purpose is to stabilize and transport patients quickly and safely to appropriate medical facilities.
Who is EMS: Who are the people making up the emergency medical service? We are your peers and fellow students. We are dispatchers, first responders, EMTs, paramedics, nurses, and physicians. We respond in ambulances, fire trucks, law enforcement vehicles, and helicopters.
Purpose of EMS: The purpose is to help people in emergencies… medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, trauma, and natural or man-made disasters. The medical treatment we provide ranges from immobilization to advanced cardiac care. While we work both “on-scene” and “en route” to the hospital, we are in constant contact with physicians to ensure the best medical care possible.
Ten Tips for Better Public Speaking
- Know Your Material
Pick a topic you are interested in. Know more about it than you include in your speech. Use personal stories and conversational language—that way you won’t easily forget what to say. - Practice, Practice, Practice
Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. - Know The Audience
Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to strangers. - Know The Room
Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids. - Relax
Ease tension by doing exercises. Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm. - Visualize Yourself Giving Your Speech
Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience clapping—it will boost your confidence. - Realize That People Want You To Suceed
Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining. They don’t want you to fail. - Don’t Apologize
Don't apologize for any nervousness or problem—the audience probably never noticed it. - Concentrate On The Message-Not The Medium
Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience. - Gain Experience
Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking.
