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Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

15FeatureSeptember 12-18, 2011United Kingdom Edition skills and those are very much a matter of personal choice but for what it’s worth, I found these tips particularly helpful; aPlan the entire lecture and rehearse it. The skill is to make it look like you are ad-libbing and it just flows but this only comes from rehearsing over and over again. I remember watching Chris Rock on tour and thinking how spontane- ous he looked. Then watching him on Youtube and seeing the exact same performance in three other countries - the only thing that changed was the background. Even his stage position and gestures were identical and that only comes from practice. bYou will get nervous, so speak to a few members of the audience before your talk so you see some friendly faces when you get up to speak. Make eye contact from time to time to deliver certain points. cWrite down your introduc- tion and learn it. It will help make your thoughts clearer and help the audience understand what to expect. Also you are much less likely to be nervous as you know exactly what you are going to say. dDon’t have too many slides or too much text on each slide. Your audience will end up reading the slides and not engaging with you. Only put on a slide what you want people to remember, ideally an image that will resonate with them and act as an aide-memoire for you. Their attention should be on you, not your slides. eYou need to strike a balance between entertainment and ed- ucation. Try comedy! I’ve always loved watching stand-up comedy and thought standing up in front of a room full of strangers and trying to make them laugh would be absolutely terrifying. But nev- er one to resist a challenge, I enrolled at the Comedy School in London under the director- ship of Keith Palmer where once a week for seven weeks I sprayed on triple deodorant, spent most of the morning be- forehand on the toilet and at last found a use for my Christ- mas funny socks. The socks were no use but the course was fabulous. The more you put your- self out there the more confi- dent you will become and you will be amazed at the impact public speaking can have on your dentistry and your busi- ness by raising your profile. And, once you get over the initial nerves, you might be pleasantly surprised by how much you en- joy public speaking – I love it ! DT About the author James Goolnik is talking at the BDTA Showcase on Friday 21st October. He is the immediate past-president of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD), Association of Dental Implantology, British Society Of Occlusal Studies and the British Dental As- sociation. His book ‘Brush’ about having an outstanding career in Dentistry, whilst having a life, is a bestseller on Amazon with all the profits going to Dentaid. He has just been voted the most influential person in Dentistry in the UK . For more information please visit www.bacd.com