• Know your audience. Who will you be talking to? Do they know much about mental health? How old are they? What’s their educational attainment? These questions, says Paccial, will help you shape your language and delivery. • Pin down logistics. Determine the location of your talk. How much travel time do you need to make it there on time? Do you need to manage your own presentation from a laptop or will a tech team help you? • Adjust your perspective about mental health. Often, how we answer questions reveals our real feelings and thoughts about a subject. Paccial suggests that, before you get up on that podium, you adopt the correct attitude about mental health. “If you can relate genuinely to somebody with mental health issues,” says Paccial, “or you can consider them as a human being, not as somebody below you; if you can treat them as your equal,” then you would have achieved the right attitude toward mental health. How to Deliver a Talk About Mental Health As a person of authority, you may be invited to speak about mental health. Whether or not you are a healthcare worker, see these invitations as opportunities to spread awareness about mental health. After all, especially in developing countries such as the Philippines, a person’s mental, emotional, and psychosocial health is only secondary to physical health. It’s a privilege to be able to advocate for mental health. There is enough information online to help you gather material for your talk. However, it’s important, too, to focus on how you will prepare for your talk and possible questions your audience may ask about mental health. Rodelen Paccial, M.D., of Mariveles Wellness and General Hospital, shares some tips on how you can get ready to tackle questions about mental health. Before your talk: • Understand your facts well. It’s not possible to just wing a talk about mental health. “You are being brought in as a resource person,” says Paccial. “So you have to do your best to be theoretically prepared. There’s no need to deliver a perfect presentation, though.” 31 During your talk: • Be charming and funny. “Charm delivers a message, too,” says Paccial. “It makes people at ease and receptive.” Just make sure that your jokes are well-placed and sensitive to the circumstances of your audience. • Master technique. “You need formal technique,” says Paccial. “If you are delivering in a large hall, experts say you have to look at the persons in the back row. This way, everybody sitting in front of them will think that you’re looking at them. It will keep their attention.” Also, gesture with your hands and move around so that you don’t appear like a statue. 32