Wiki Seminar Speaker Swelled Head Syndrome

[kllevine]

Without getting too specific, I have attended a local seminar in the last several months with a speaker that was a powerhouse person who has a list of credentials a mile long, and has served on the national board, etc. For an eight-hour seminar, over 100 people were held captive in their seats listening to story after story about the speaker's kids, dogs, parents, to take vitamin D, brief mention of the speaker's religious beliefs, coders who were made fun of for asking a question of the speaker in the past, all of the prestigious places this person has been, how poor, benighted publishers are being helped by this person's wisdom,and even " When we went into the operating room, we did such and such...." This person has no medical credentials, only coding credentials. The parts about all of the medical procedures that this person had claimed to have participated in seemed kind of ridiculous.

To be honest, we were disappointed that the subject matter was packed with more facts instead of personal stories.

Please, please remember, if you are one of these nationally-known speakers, that if you are just speaking to a room full of humble coders that we do not need self-aggrandizing behavior. We came to learn from you, not hear your life story, especially with so many unbelievable/boring parts. Please use discretion and be acutely aware that the hoi polloi aren't necessarily impressed with self-aggrandization. Thanks very much.

 

[gost]

Amen! We attend these things to learn about coding related issues. If you can teach them in an entertaining way, that's great. Even a personal story or two is okay IF it relates in some way to the topic. I've wasted money on too many seminars where speakers taught me nothing but how to nap sitting up.

 

[mitchellde]

In defense of speakers..... There are several of us that have a wide expanse of experiences. I have been in the operating room with the physician many times and I have no medical credentials. Back in the mid 70s it was how the hospital I worked in did things. The UR personnel for the surgery unit had to be in the OR for a set number of surgeries every month. So it is possible that that is true. She was probably telling you that so as to lend credence to a specific area of topic she was talking on. Just giving a different perspective here. As far as talking about her family.. not sure on that one but it may have been during a break or someone asked a question. This happens to me all the time, people want to know where I am from what else I do etc. Many times during a break I get questions about my family. If the speaker is using family as a reference for a point then maybe OK... I have done this to make a coding point to avoid using other patients as examples. I use real cases to make coding points. I will use generic coder examples of how things have been incorrectly coded. I do not make fun of other coders but do use poor coding as an example of what not to do and how to fix. So is it possible you mis understood som of the direction the speaker was taking? Or was she really that self absorbed! I know that as a speaker I am constantly under a microscope for my experience and knowledge, so in defense we do need to let the audience know what we have done and where we come from. I am not say that we are better just that we have to justify our experience constantly. I apologise on the part of speakers if you were let down by a particular one but do not judge all in that way. Also keep in mind she may have had a bad day and was doing her best to recover and may have overshot the mark.
I'll give you a funny here... I had one recently where I was just exhausted by the end, many questions all trying to get an answer at once all off topic, a bad travel week to boot, and it was only 30 minutes left, I still had one point I really needed to make so I asked.... "who in here does drugs?"( not at all what I intended to say mind you) And I knew then the day was over!!

 

[kllevine]

Thank you for your responses. All I can say is that the particular speaker was very drawn-out and seemed boastful. It was different than someone just mentioning some cute factoid or two about a family member. Some attendees were really impressed with the presentation but others used phrases such as "over the top" and "thinks he/she is a doctor" and "yack, yack, yack, I, I, I " when we were leaving. I am not trying to be mean but really, how much "stuff" does an audience need ? Everyone can read the bio....we felt like we were being talked down to and were being treated like kindergardeners. Very sorry to have to write this, and maybe the speaker was indeed having a bad day.

 

[MMAYCOCK]

Speakers

Thank you for your responses. All I can say is that the particular speaker was very drawn-out and seemed boastful. It was different than someone just mentioning some cute factoid or two about a family member. Some attendees were really impressed with the presentation but others used phrases such as "over the top" and "thinks he/she is a doctor" and "yack, yack, yack, I, I, I " when we were leaving. I am not trying to be mean but really, how much "stuff" does an audience need ? Everyone can read the bio....we felt like we were being talked down to and were being treated like kindergardeners. Very sorry to have to write this, and maybe the speaker was indeed having a bad day.

Speakers need constructive criticism and if this one is really interested in being of value, she will take it as such. If possible, maybe you can send a note or ask the person who booked the speaker to forward it anonymously.
Because of polite laughter or the courtesy of the listeners, speakers begin to think they really are that interesting. If the speaker rejects your feedback, at least you tried to make it better for the next "captive" audience!