f you're not giving the clinic, take some of your favorite tips — even ones in this column — to your clinician with a polite suggestion that he might want to add some things or jazz his clinic up a little bit, if only for a change of pace.
But if you're the main man, here are some other things you can do to improve your clinic.
The pain in the butt
Almost every clinic has one: He's the guy who knows it all, or argues with every statement you make, or has a question about everything. He slows up your presentation, gets you off topic, and ruins your timing.
The best way to solve this "problem" is to make him an ally. Give him some responsibilities: setting up equipment, running the VCR, making sure everyone is registered. Anything. Keep him busy. If he’s an expert in a particular subject, let him make a presentation on it if it’s in keeping with the theme of your clinic.
If he’s trying to answer all the questions, direct your queries to people who you know can get it right or at least be in the neighbourhood.
If all else fails, talk to him, one on one, during a break. Tell him you know he’s just trying to learn or asssit you, but he’s disrupting the clinic and you need him to be more helpful. Tell him to wait until the end if he has a bunch of questions. If he doesn’t agree with something, you can discuss it privately, later. Whatever it takes. Because this guy is ruining it for everyone else. So nip it in the bud.
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