[Issue] Lecture techniques Ⅲ

“Provide disclosures and references.”

Dr. Gook emphasizes disclosure and reference as the most important aspects of a lecture.

“The speaker should disclose any parties with financial interests in the talk. I provide disclosure of financial interests in the first slide of my presentation. Very few speakers provide disclosure in Korea. I once participated in a three-day conference and not one speaker provided disclosure of financial interests. This is an important step in securing the objectivity of the talk.”

Dr. Gook aims to provide a continuum of helpful information rather than a one-time talk. References help serve this purpose.

“Providing references is important as bringing up irrelevant or unsupported materials can make the speaker appear conceited. And it is particularly so when presenting studies that the speaker did not participate in. Moreover, presenting a lot of references can give the audience opportunities to study the topic further. When I attend overseas conferences, I like to jot down references provided by the speaker and review the topic later on my own. For these reasons, I always include references at the bottom of slides when I give lectures.”

Dr. Gook believes that studying helps improves presentation skills. Especially, the more background information you have on the topic, the better your presentation.

“When the speaker gives a lecture on only a fraction of information that he is familiar with, he is likely to give a good lecture. But when he tries to cover his lack of knowledge with flamboyant presentation techniques, the audience will soon notice that. When I request a talk to other doctors at our conference, I tend to not invite presenters who give the same talks over and over. On the other hand, I keep inviting speakers who add new materials to their talk. The most prominent example is Dr. Yeong-woong Oh of Cheongju Yonsei Plastic Surgery Clinic who developed the innovative epicanthotomy technique that is used in 80~90% of procedures in Korea. Dr. Oh brings new materials to each of his talks on epicanthotomy.”

Dr. Gook has also pioneered a new area in plastic surgery. He gave his first presentation on a unique new liposuction method at the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.

“Since 1999, I have performed liposuction procedures with local anesthesia. But the scientific director of the society said that our advertisement of liposuction without general anesthesia ‘deceptive advertising.’ I invited him to visit my practice to observe the procedure himself and he asked me to give a talk at the conference. In 2000, when I finished my very first presentation, a sort of a debut stage in my career as a lecturer, I felt very honored and proud to have achieved something unique in my field.”

Dr. Gook rarely turns down a request for a talk because he understands from his experience of requesting a talk that a lot of consideration is given to that decision.

“I know that a lot of consideration is given before they invite me for a talk at their conference. That is why I rarely refuse when asked to give a presentation. I also prepare for a talk following the principle of updating new materials and this pushes me to study further. Striving for a better presentation helps me improve myself.”