How to write (and publish) a medical paper and how to deliver it

The essence of medical writing is clarity, integrity and brevity. To write a really good medical paper requires doing eight to ten revisions before it is near perfect as possible. References should be numbered, and not too numerous. Follow the instructions given in the J.A.M.A. It is best to lay the paper aside for a week or two before making the final revision to allow one's thoughts to mature. In giving a scientific paper, always address the chairman of the meeting and then the audience at the beginning of the presentation. The paper should be typed and in front of the speaker, but he should not read it, using it only for prompting in case he “blanks out,” as so often occurs with a young person speaking for the first time. Slides should always be used to supplement the speech so that the audience can combine visual and auditory response. A common mistake is to put too much material on a slide. The slides should be white print on a blue background, which is the most legible, with a maximum of 20 to 30 words on a slide. Tables must be made as brief as possible so that they are easily read from the back of the room in less than a minute. Always speak slowly and distinctly with dramatic pauses at appropriate places. Never crowd too much information into your talk so that you are hurried. Never make more than one or two Mayn points. By making too many points you weaken their impact. Keep case reports to a minimum and make them very brief; always have a brief, clearly stated conclusion; and thank the audience before you sit down. Sir Terence Cawthorne was a master at presenting a scientific paper and should be emulated. He would always begin with a humorous remark or a brief, funny, but clean, story. He would practice giving a talk to a recorder, playing it back to himself, and doing this over and over until he was satisfied.