🧵 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬? 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.⁣ ⁣ Most people focus on slides, script, story.⁣ ⁣ But none of that matters if your nervous system is stuck in fight-or-flight.⁣ ⁣ Here’s what I teach before any big talk:⁣ ⁣ 👇

“Just a heads up—this next part includes a case that might be difficult for some of you to hear.” A few years ago, I said those words before sharing a case that involved the death of a child. My child. One person quietly stepped out. It felt like the right thing to do. 🧵

🧵𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦.⁣ ⁣ Not because you're arrogant.⁣ Because you're cursed.

🧵⁣ “𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞…”⁣ Harmless phrase? Not quite.⁣ ⁣ Here’s why it quietly signals a deeper problem 👇

The role of food in patient-centred care for culturally diverse communities within EDs doi.org/10.1111/1742... @wiley.com ‪ @andrewjtagg.bsky.social #MedSky #EMSky #EMedSky #emimcc #ACEM

When I was 14, I brought a dead bat to class.⁣ A real one.⁣ A desiccated pipistrelle.⁣ ⁣ Everyone else brought paper.⁣ I brought a story.⁣ ⁣ 🦇 Here’s what that taught me:

𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭—𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐱?⁣ ⁣ A thread on pop culture references - and how they can break your talk 🧵

🧵⁣ 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝-𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫.⁣ What the Bene Gesserit said… applies to public speaking too 👇⁣

🧵⁣ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐀 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧⁣ ⁣ (A short thread on why it’s so hard to cut that slide you love…)

🧵⁣ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 #𝟏 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 (𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠):⁣ ⁣ Reading them aloud.⁣

“Most people would rather be in the casket than give the eulogy.” Jerry Seinfeld’s line gets a laugh because it’s true. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ6g...

🧵⁣ 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫.⁣ They make your audience tune out.⁣ ⁣ Here’s why — and what to do instead 👇⁣

I was all set to give my usual ALS teaching session. Slides loaded. Clicker ready. Standard stuff. And then the tech failed. No projector. No slides. Nothing.

🩸Calling all pediatric ED clinicians! Got 10 minutes to help? DFTB is studying when to measure & replace calcium in pediatric trauma patients (practice varies wildly!). @damianroland.bsky.social @andrewjtagg.bsky.social @katpriddis.bsky.social bit.ly/DFTBCalcium #PedSky #MedSky #SurgSky #TraumaSky

Most presentations start with a click. 🖱 Open laptop 🖥 Launch PowerPoint ⌨️ Tap out bullet points But the best talks I’ve seen? They start with something low tech: 🖊 A pen and a blank page.

Perthlings - I’m in your city for #ANZAHPE2026 Hit me up with your best suggestions for coffee ☕️

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞? Not a soft extra — the centre. I wrote a short piece for 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘌𝘋 on why compassion should be the anchor of how we design, lead, and care in the ED. Read it here: 👉 www.youred.org.au/read/compass...

“𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝.”⁣ – Sir Mark Walport⁣ ⁣ A 🧵on the step too many people skip:⁣ Making sure your audience actually gets it.⁣

When you're already doing a great job clinically identifying the sickest kids, a new alert doesn't help. Of course, they also won't get rid of it after proving it's useless. Ha ha! Silly you. #medsky www.evidencetriage.com/p/sepsis-ale...

Very ace to have a proper social media account up for justlittleadults.com (our little website a few of us set up in our spare time because actually we just really like paediatric anaesthesia). #pedsanes #ansky

I used to start every talk by asking: “What do I want to say?” Now I ask: “𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭?” Not in a cynical way — in a generous one. Because the best presentations aren’t about us. They’re about the people listening. 🧵

Busy slides don’t make you look clever. They make your message harder to follow. Here’s how to say more — with less: 🔗 speakhuman.kit.com/posts/say-le... #PublicSpeaking #PresentationTips

#SupraglotticAirwayDevice use in children in Australasian EDs doi.org/10.1111/1742... @andrewjtagg.bsky.social ‪ @drsimoncraig.bsky.social @wiley.com #MedSky #EMSky #EMedSky #emimcc #ACEM

EM Quick Hits 64 🩸Whole Blood Transfusions @petrosoniak Zafar Qasim 💔Calcium Before Diltiazem in Afib @First10EM ✂️Thoracotomy Pearls @EMSwami 🧒Uterine Casts @andrewjtagg 💟OMI Scale & Proportionality @ECGCases emergencymedicinecases.com/em-quick-hit... #FOAMed

It's time to drop the "academese." Emphasize understanding. dontforgetthebubbles.com/the-power-of... @andrewjtagg.bsky.social #FOAMed #MedSky #PedSky

The power of talking plainly by @dennisrenmd.bsky.social and @andrewjtagg.bsky.social dontforgetthebubbles.com/the-power-of...

One of the founders of #EBM, Dr. Sackett. Who knows what the real number is, but it's a pithy quote. It's why I try to teach people how to think, not what to think. Clinicians need to develop critical appraisal skills to be able to answer their clinical questions. #MedSky

A powerful scene from The Pitt captures the difficult times in the emergency department with the current #measles outbreak. via @thesgem.bsky.social #antivax #vaccination

Pediatric front of neck access (the surgical tracheotomy) An approach to the can't intubate can't oxygenate scenario in children #FOAMed

Everything I’ve learned about teaching, I’ve learned through @DFTBubbles Proud (and a bit stunned) to now be an Associate Professor at @unimelb It's been a long road, but I got there in the end.

5 recent papers covered in 15 minutes at the Incrementum2025 conference earlier this month. thesgem.com/2025/03/sgem...

It has been said before But I think this could be the most important thing I write this year We need to do better for our patients

Stop ordering abdominal x-rays in children with constipation! No! No! #medsky www.evidencetriage.com/p/cant-stop-...

There are plenty of inspiring EMTA Conference sessions taking place next week over 26-27 February in Bristol! Want expert tips to fast-track a dream consultant job? @Tessa R Davis @tessardavis.bsky.social has all the insights! 💻 www.youtube.com/watc... Register: rcem.ac.uk/events/em...

Trump’s MAHA Commission announcement mentioned ADHD medications as a burden for US kids and a “dire threat.” Not mentioned: FIREARMS, the leading killer of US children over age 1. Shocker.

Out now Sarah Marwick joins me to talk about Chris Voss’ lifechanging book “Never Split The Difference” bedsidereading.buzzsprout.com/1880290/epis...

Registration open now for NSW, Australia and EOI for Fiji in July. Join us!

Are you looking to get (back) into reading in 2025? Have you got a longish commute that would be enhanced by audiobooks. Would you like to use novels, poetry and memoir as "accidental CPD"? Here are some ideas to get you started: bedsidereading.buzzsprout.com/1880290/epis...

On the 1st day of xmas the SGEM gave to me...a P-value in a pear tree. The P value of frequentists statistics —often misunderstood and frequently abused. The key here is remembering that a P value isn’t proof of the “truth”... thesgem.com/2024/12/sgem... #MedSky @emcrit.bsky.social

bjgplife.com/seven-cautio... by @tarageorge.bsky.social and colleagues @bjgp.bsky.social fyi @nadakhan.bsky.social @bjgpopen.bsky.social

The Phoenix Criteria for Pediatric Sepsis and Septic Shock thesgem.com/2024/12/sgem... #MemeMonday @dennisrenmd.bsky.social @andrewjtagg.bsky.social @tessardavis.bsky.social @jama.com

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Let's time travel back to Germany in the 16th century and see what a priest can teach us about scientific communication. #SciComm #MedSky #PedSky #AcademicSky #FOAMed 1/🧵

You cannot staff an A&E like an outpatient clinic, but it's really hard not to. ☀️: 🚑... 🏥🚑 🚑... 🌖: 🏥🚑🚑 🚑... 🚑... A thread #Medsky #EMedsky .../1

An oldie but a goodie, reposting for next generation of parents. It’s science! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

I wish I could go to this. But I can't. So you should, then tel me all about it.

If your reader only has so many sparks of brainpower to give, help them to spend them wisely.

Making your meaning clear means not using long words when short ones work just as well. Imagine each syllable you read takes away one spark* of energy *Sparks are the SI unit of brain power

Thank you! Can we please stop using those annoying abbreviations? At least in communication outside of your own specialty and any written report? They cause confusion and errors and should be treated accordingly.

Now think of the last piece of bad writing you read. Did it use long, multipart, rambling paragraphs? Did it use three words when one would do? Was it full of complex, unfamiliar jargon?

Made it to KL to run a workshop at #MMMEC24 on my favourite thing ever - writing