01/13/2022    Steven R Kravitz, DPM

Suggestions to Online Lecturers (Bret Ribotsky, DPM)

I noted Dr. Ribotsky's comments for speakers for
virtual meetings and some guidelines he suggested.
So here are some comments modified from guidelines
of the the Academy of Physicians in Wound Healing.

1. Slides, make sure there is good contrast so that
the text can be seen easily especially small
devices such as the mobile phone. Suggest a font
size of at least 24 for PowerPoint.

2. Sitting or standing? If speaking from a live
meeting, streamed through the Internet then
standing obviously it's more customary and helpful.
But if you were streaming from the comfort of your
home or office, sitting in front of your laptop
screen will be fine. Newer computers for the past
few years have good visualization and microphones
as well. Sit a good distance from the screen so you
fill the majority of the screen and the background
is unobtrusive.

3. Lighting And viewing the image on the screen-
Lighting should generally be in front of you so it
lights up your face. Lighting that is in back of
you it will "shadow" your face.

4. Visualize your screen: If you have the ability,
cable your laptop to an external computer monitor
or a television, the monitor and television will
have a different image with better lighting often
than that what you see on the computer screen from
your laptop. When you set up your lighting, use
that from the TV or the monitor if you can. That
would be much closer to what the attendees will see
on their screens.

5. Speaking: Remember to speak clearly and slowly.
I suggest running a few minute test video of
yourself several times until you get a cadence of
how you want to speak. It will also reinforce the
visualization and how are you appear on the screen
to make sure you're sitting in the proper position,
the background is unobtrusive and lighting is
properly set, etc. Make sure you like what you see.

6. Understand the platform used for streaming.
Speakers often make a mistake of not being as
familiar with the virtual platform as should be.
Make sure you review all aspects with your IT team:
how to share your screen, turn your microphone on
and off, any other aspects of the technical
presentation. Do this several days ahead of time to
make sure you're well familiar with it

7. Dress appropriately. If you're more comfortable
with presenting a formal lecture such as a shirt
and tie that's fine. Sport jacket often not needed
for a virtual lecture but If you want to use a
sport jacket that's OK too. Again, recommended to
run a five minute video and review it to make sure
do you like what you see. I've lectured many
virtual meetings most often just a sport shirt.

8. Enjoy your delivery and have fun with a good,
informative presentation. It's a great way to share
with our profession.

Steven R Kravitz, DPM, Winston-Salem NC

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