Dr Mark Tager: One of Healthcare's Most Appreciated Speakers
Mark is a featured speaker and moderator at medical & healthcare events across the globe. His presentations bring new insight and clarity to ideas and concepts at the heart of the rapidly evolving field of healthcare. When Mark speaks, complicated science transforms into an inspiring possibility.
On this page, Mark reveals how he approaches each speaking assignment. You can also review a sampling of the presentations for which Mark is famous. If you want to explore having Dr Tager speak at your event, email: contact@drtager.com
MY BIG LEARNING - by Mark J. Tager, MD
After more than 1200 presentations to audiences, large and small; durations short and long, content either scientific or motivational, I’ve learned a few things.
No two presentations are the same.
The content may be similar, but the experience of providing and receiving a well-crafted talk is never the same. Breaking it down: maybe 80% of the success of a presentation is the skill of the speaker. I would attribute 15% to the nature of the audience, time of day, state of attentiveness, and the relevance of the material to their lives. This leaves 5% which I think of as the “magic.” It’s what experienced speakers can’t quantify, nor can they predict how to make happen. But we all know when it occurs.
The magic is that special moment of “AHA” when minds light up to allow in new paradigms and hearts open to make room for great connections.
There are some presentations in which a speaker must “just provide the facts”. Even so, the best presentations do one thing, and one thing only. They ignite new possibilities in those in attendance.
THE RULES
I routinely follow a few rules that help me ensure speaking success.
- Understand the audience. I never take on a speaking assignment unless I’ve gathered the input of the organizers, and spoken to a handful of potential attendees.
- Get really clear on objectives. Objectives provide the boundaries, the guard rails for a session. The goal is to deliver what you say you will provide.
- Make it interactive. I never speak more than 18 minutes (and often less) without some form of interactivity in a talk. Plus, a dose of self-deprecating or situational humor goes a long way to making the audience feel at home.
- Remember that the presentation is about and for them. I think it took me a good few decades to remember this and to remove much of my ego from my delivery.
- Finally, it sure helps to write a book on the topic you want to present. The book provides the backbone and structure. It hones your arguments and allows the words and phrases to roll off your tongue easily because they are imbedded in your mind. The major categories of talks that I give are all based on books I have written.