Dr. Buckman is a medical oncologist and full professor at the Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto and at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas. He has specialized for the last twenty years in teaching communication skills to physicians, particularly in the area of breaking bad news and end-of –life care. Dr. Buckman’s communications strategies, C-L-A-S-S and S-P-I-K-E-S, are used and taught all over the world. He has conducted workshops on doctor-patient communication for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and many other organizations. Together with Dr. Walter Baile, Dr. Buckman authored a 3 disc CD ROM set entitled A Practical Guide to Communication Skills in Cancer Care and a 4 disc CD ROM set entitled A Practical Guide to Communication Skills In Clinical Practice. He also wrote the book on how to break bad news, for medical professionals, aptly titled How to Break Bad News.

Dr. Buckman is a very popular, entertaining and effective keynote speaker at special events such as sales meetings, annual conferences etc. If you are interested in retaining Dr. Buckman as a speaker at your event, please contact Cinemedic Distributors Inc.

The following is a summary of his speaking topics in the field of interpersonal communications and other topics:

With Dr. Robert Buckman, you are only five short steps away from becoming a better communicator. He will guide you through his C-L-A-S-S approach to effective communication. You will learn how to combine Context, Listening, Acknowledgement, Strategy and Summary. These simple guidelines provide you with all you need to improve your communication skills.

Tailored to speak directly to your audience, he illustrates each of the five steps with memorable demonstrations, anecodotes and examples. This practical approach provides you with concrete tools you can use the very next time you have to communicate an important message to a group or an individual.

Dr. Buckman will often use humour to drive home his points. Blended with his unerring sensitivity, he ensures that your group will learn the "how" to effective communication. We guarantee you'll walk away with tools you can immediately use.

It's Monty Python meets cutting-edge communications theory. Based on his practical in-depth five-step protocol for effective communication, this lighter take on communications delivers rock-solid practical tips.

Dr. Buckman tells a series of anecdotes and stories that illustrate the major pitfalls of poor communication. You can guarantee your audience a hilarious hour while they learn the importance of setting, communication skills, acknowledgement, negotiation and summary to effective communication. Learning wasn't meant to be this much fun.

An ideal presentation for a luncheon address or for after dinner, few others can combine Dr. Buckman's hilarious style with his invaluable insights into processes that determine your success in everyday life.

We all feel uncomfortable talking about the subject of dying - and the feeling of awkwardness frequently makes it very difficult for us to talk to a friend or family member who is dying. This talk will explain why that is - and show you many simple steps and tips that you can use to overcome the difficulties.

Based on his book of the same title, Dr. Buckman's approach to this difficult topic is full of common sense and sound, basic principles. In particular, he will explain how the emotions that arise during the conversation can be identified and acknowledged, and how - once you understand the basic principles of emotion-handling - you can rapidly become a more effective and supportive friend.

By the end of the talk, you will be able to understand why it is that conversation often feels so difficult, and, after illustrations of the techniques and strategies that can be used to overcome those difficulties, you will find that you are better able to listen effectively and offer support. There will be plenty of time for questions and comments as well - so that you can discuss some of the situations you have found most difficult.

End-of-life care is often fraught with difficulties - many of them arising from difficulties in communication with the patient who is dying and their friends and family members. Although there have been considerable improvements in many aspects of end-of-life care and symptom management, the techniques of communication still lag behind other practical skills taught to medical students and physicians.

Based on research, teaching and publications over the last decade, the strategies and techniques discussed and illustrated in this presentation are firmly based on research findings and have been found to be of practical value in clinical medicine.

ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE IN THE PHARAMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY...

"WHY WON'T THOSE DOCTORS TALK TO US?"
or
"HOW TO WIN FRIENDS & INFLUENCE PEOPLE"

In today's atmosphere, most doctors are acutely aware of financial restrictions and cutbacks, but also aware of the political and ethical minefield that surrounds collaborations between medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. To put it mildly, most doctors are conflicted - they would like help (of many kinds) in their academic and research endeavours, yet are worried that assistance from the pharmaceutical industry might in some way invalidate their results. In this talk, you will learn (from published data) how doctors view discussions with the pharmaceutical industry - and there will be a review of some of the recent ethical and political controversies. In addition - perhaps not unexpectedly - there will be some lighter moments! This talk will really help you strategize and align your potential roles - and that will help you open discussions. Sometimes the problem isn't simply which door to knock on, but how to knock.

What you will learn from this talk are not tricks or scripts, but genuine communication strategies that strengthen the bond between you and the other person. As so many audiences have said after this talk, "this stuff really works".

Cancer is a Word, Not a Sentence

This talk is based on Dr. Buckman's book of the same title. It helps people deal with the feeling of dread and terror that accompanies the word "cancer". Dr. Buckman discusses the sources of that fear, and how we can counteract the effects and see past the word to understand and cope with the facts of the situation. He also raises the issues of mental attitude, blame, complementary remedies and many other issues surrounding a diagnosis of cancer. Dr. Buckman encourages audience participation and questions.

Following the talk, Dr. Buckman is available to sign copies of his book. The book can be obtained at a discount by the organizers and sold as a fund raiser.

Other talks by Dr. Buckman:

Humour as a Coping Strategy

It Ain't (Just) What You Say, It's (Also) the Way That You Say It

Belief, Behaviour and the Brain

Human Wildlife: The Life That Lives On Us

"Why Won't They Work With Me?" - The Secrets of Good Team Building