MD's provocative presentation at health symposium
September 17, 2011
Last November Ideas on Stage sponsored my Presentation Zen European Seminar (see info for my 2011 seminar in Paris). Attendees to the seminar, which was held in the cool facilities at the Microsoft head office in Paris, came from all over Europe, and even a few who flew all the way over from the USA. I had a fantastic time and met a lot of very interesting and creative people at the seminar. One such interesting person was a 6'8" Swedish medical doctor named Andreas Eenfeldt. Dr. Eenfeldt is a good example of someone who is doing important work, making an impact, and doing his part to change the world. He's using his knowledge and experience to challenge conventional wisdom and create a dramatic change. To do that, he realized early on that engaging presentation skills were necessary to spread the kind of change he had in mind.
Above: Inside the seminar held last year at Microsoft in Paris. Dr. Eenfeldt was one of the participants in the soldout workshop which included professionals from myriad fields, including medicine. The next seminar will be held November 14 in Paris.(More photos from the Paris seminar last year.)
Dr. Eenfeldt specializes in family medicine and has a special interest in "finding out how to get as healthy as possible using natural methods such as diet, exercise and perhaps a supplement (vitamin D) or two." And he has what to some people is still a provocative thesis: "The idea to eat less fat and less saturated fat was certainly a mistake. Inadvertently that advice may be the biggest reason behind the epidemics of obesity and diabetes. More and more people realize this. It’s time for a health revolution." Dr. Eenfeldt gave a presentation recently at the Ancestral Health Symposium 2011 which is getting a lot of attention. Watch it on Youtube or below. Well worth a look.
If your idea is worth spreading, then presentation matters
I like Dr. Eenfeldt's presentation for many reasons (in spite of the poor audio recording). The presentation had a good flow and structure that provided enough evidence to support his statements. He provided personal stories of his friends balanced with data and some quotations from credible people in the field that supported his idea. He also told his own personal stories. A lot of people were impressed with Dr. Eenfeldt's talk. Here is an example comment on his blog; Youtube has similar comments:
"Having watched more than half of the lectures presented at the Ancestral Health Symposium, I have to say that your lecture was, by far, the most engaging, entertaining, and most clearly articulated lecture. I have watched numerous presentations on the efficacy of low carb diets over the years, and your presentation is the best of the best. You also had the most illustrative slide show, and I am glad that when you uploaded your video, that you took the time to edit your video to include your slides. You have really impressed me."
Making it visual
Here are just a few sample visuals from his talk which used more than 100 keynote slides.
ABOVE: The doctor introduces the problem: the obesity epidemic is a very recent phenomenon. Then he uses the example of CDC statistics on the USA to note its dramatic increase in less than 30 years.
ABOVE: Dr. Eenfeldt shares his personal example. After a home-cooked LCHF meal his blood glucose was stable. Then he compares that to a high carb lunch with loads of sugars too which he got (ironcially enough) at the obesity conferense in Stockholm. While it is just his personal experience, it very much resonated with the audience. A very simple, clear, and visual explanation.
Links
• TheDietDoctor.com
• Ancestral Health Symposium
• Info on Presentation Zen seminar in Paris Nov 14
good presentation esp. the diagrams but very misleading, even atkins died of coronary issues
Posted by: Will | September 17, 2011 at 11:57 PM
Atkins slipped on ice an died from "blunt impact injury of head not from his diet. In fact the low carb high fat called LCHF are much more than mere Atkins diet and is also based on not eating processed foods instead of pure natural food. And it's based on scientific studies.
Posted by: Björn Hellström | September 18, 2011 at 03:08 AM
First of all, Will, this presentation is not about Atkins. Secondly, Dr. Atkins (since you bring him up) did not die of coronary disease. He slipped on the ice and died of head trauma at age 72. Here's the article (or just use Wiki):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/apr/18/2
How is the presentations by Dr. Eenfeldt misleading? And how is your short comment *not* misleading?
Posted by: garr | September 18, 2011 at 08:54 AM
Hmmm, looks like THE most misleading slide is actually the very first one shown. :) But the addition of the obese character to second slide has great impact! The lack of data in the first map slide makes it rather weak, and the legend appears to change between the first and second map slide.
Posted by: richard | September 19, 2011 at 08:09 AM
I think this is a great example of a speaker who designed his slides to be so strong (compelling) that they tell a clear story without his voice. Whether you agree with his facts, this approach to presenting is effective and engaging. Well done.
Posted by: Nathan | September 19, 2011 at 01:21 PM