Scientific knowledge may be communicated in the written form or orally. Written communication (medical writing) usually takes the form of original or research papers, which appear in scientific journals. Oral communication in medicine is usually made during a meeting and is often called a free paper. Oral medical communication abides by certain rules. The objectives of this book are to examine and discuss these rules. Oral medical communication involves taking the floor to speak, whether it be as a speaker, the person who gives the talk in front of an audience, or as part of the audience, who can then ask questions or make comments. The go- between is called the moderator. Some forms of oral communication are more specific to meetings with a large audience: free papers, panel discussions or roundtables, posters, and videos. Others are more characteristic of smaller audiences: hospital staff meet- ings, or literature update sessions. Educational talks have a didactic goal and resemble a lecture, for instance, in a course, or are closer to a case report, when they are given during a small class get-together.
