Research doctors do good and fascinating work.  A friend in medical research once told me that a third of the people alive on the planet today would not be here were it not for the miracle of modern medicine. 

To spread the good news, and to increase the interest in medical research, it is important that doctors be able to get a broader audience interested in their work.

However, in my experience, many of them struggle, like other highly educated and trained professionals, to present their information in a manner that captures and holds the attention of general practitioners and other medical professionals. 

Like engineers in the sales function, they struggle to translate their specialized knowledge into an interesting story for those who lack their training or experience. 

This most often means that they resist focusing on a broader picture before they give us a close up of their particular data set. 

For example, instead of beginning their lecture by saying, “Study AOLp52 was designed to test drug ABC against placebo,” it is often better to set the scene for the dramatic story that they are about to tell.

An alternative approach?   

“Since 1992, when the first drug to treat this disease was approved by the FDA, more than 400,000 patients have escaped a death sentence.  Unfortunately, over 6 million have not.  The human infrastructure of entire nations in sub-Saharan Africa is in danger of unraveling unless we can devise a remedy that can meet the challenge.  We have a battle on our hands.

The data you are about to see suggest we are on the right path.  We never know what circumstance or fate will interrupt our journey, but those of us who have been privileged to watch this compound in action, in vitro and now in vivo, have our fingers crossed. 

Let me show you why.” 

To find a doctor who knows how to do this is rare.  And yet, the most common mistake in all scientific and technical presentations is exactly this—the inability to make the audience understand why they should care about the science. 

When you can frame the story of science as a means to subdue profound human suffering, it becomes less of an intellectual exercise, and more a sacred journey to repair the broken world.

And that can make for riveting, and more persuasive presentations.

Sims Wyeth is a speech coach in Montclair, NJ specializing in presentation skills and public speaking training in order to give accomplished people the knowledge and skill they need to become accomplished speakers. Learn more public speaking tips at www.SimsWyeth.com..