by Darina Frieder, BSc, PhD | Sep 30, 2020 | MSL Inisghts Summaries
On the MSL Society’s recent MSL Insights Weekly Show, Dr. Samuel Dyer and his guests Linda Traylor, VP of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Biodesix Inc., and Marc Taylor, Executive Client Director at H1 discussed the challenges and opportunities faced by MSLs conducting speaker training during the COVID-19 pandemic. As both MSLs and KOLs adjust to presenting in a virtual environment, Dr. Dyer and his guests shared their best practices on what to do and what not to do when presenting to an audience through a camera. The entire show can be heard here and the key takeaways from the show are summarized below.
If you appreciate my summary, do let me know. Enjoy!
MSLs need to help KOLs use technology effectively and efficiently
- It would be unwise to assume that all KOLs will transition seamlessly to a virtual environment but with preparation and practice, MSLs can bring real value to their speakers. Whenever possible, MSLs should request KOL run-throughs or practice sessions so that they and the company know the sound and visual quality is strong, the background is appropriate, etc.
- The panelists shared their tips from their own experience for tackling technological hurdles (see below graphic).
The presentation content and delivery might have to change
- If a KOL wants to stay on the speaker circuit, they may need to be more polished than they might have been with a live audience. There are a few things to keep in mind.
- Consider updating the content and slides to be more engaging in a virtual setting.
- Modernize the language and use contemporary vernacular wherever it’s appropriate.
- The presentations may need to be shorter.
- If using a pre-recorded talk, make sure it is no longer than 10 minutes long or you will lose your audience.
In the virtual environment, speaker training goes beyond providing a fair and balanced look at the data.
Some of the most dynamic speakers in front of a live audience may not be the best speakers in a virtual environment
- In the virtual setting the speaker may be faced with a broader audience geographically, by specialty, expertise, or otherwise. The MSL can help the speaker prepare and adapt to this change.
- Speakers should expect some level of audience inattentiveness. Without live audience feedback, MSLs and speakers need to identify creative ways to keep the audience engaged. Evolving technology is making this more possible all the time. For example, real-time surveys can help keep the audience engaged while providing interesting data and can double as a measure for audience attentiveness.
- Typical session openers such as “how is everybody doing” will not work the same way in a virtual meeting. Um, ah, like, right, and other dysfluencies will be more obvious and exaggerated in a virtual session than in a front of a live audience. Practice with the speaker ahead of time to help capture the audience’s attention at the start of the session and maintain the flow throughout.
- Stop apologizing for the mute / unmute blunders and just get on with the presentation.
Practical tips for success
- Practice the technology with the speaker: passing over control of the slides, advancing slides, muting, unmuting, asking questions, etc.
- Expect the unexpected and have a plan: have a tech backup ready to go.
- Run through the data and the slides as you would for a live event.
- The most successful speakers and MSLs prepare for all the little things that could go wrong.
Sources
- All information is summarized from the Medical Science Liaison Society’s MSL Insights Weekly Show on the topic of ” The Evolution of KOL Speaker Training in the New Virtual World,” which aired on September 4, 2020. (https://members.themsls.org/page/TheEvolutionofKOLSpeakerTrainingintheNewVirtualWorld)
- Images courtesy of https://www.dreamstime.com/.
Author
Darina Frieder, B.Sc., Ph.D. – Founder and Writer at Science Nerd for Hire
Darina Frieder is an experienced Medical Affairs professional and is currently a Medical Science Liaison at UCB Pharma. She also runs her own medical writing business, Science Nerd for Hire. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband, 2 kids, and 1 temperamental cat. She is passionate about many things, a few of which are gardening, creating delicious meals for family and friends, and reading as many books as she can.
by Darina Frieder, BSc, PhD | Sep 7, 2020 | MSL Inisghts Summaries
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, MSLs with a High Level of Emotional Intelligence Will Bring Even More Value to their Customers.
On The Medical Science Liaison Society’s 13th MSL Insights Weekly Show, MSL Society CEO Samuel Dyer, Douglas Yau, National Director of Oncology Field Medical Affairs at Sanofi Genzyme, and Rob Consalvo, Director of Strategic Commercial Engagement at H1 discussed the importance and power of emotional intelligence for MSLs engaging with KOLs and internal stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire show can be heard here and the key takeaways from the show are summarized below.
And if you appreciate my summary, do let me know. Enjoy!
What is Emotional Intelligence?
In a recent survey conducted by The MSL Society, MSLs and MSL managers overwhelmingly agreed that having a high level of emotional intelligence is critical to the success of an MSL.
Douglas Yau referred to Daniel Goleman’s definition of emotional intelligence, or EQ, as the combination of five pillars: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Rob Consalvo added as well as a sixth pillar, global awareness.
Figure 1. Responses to a survey conducted by The Medical Science Liaison Society: Is a high level of emotional intelligence crucial to the success of an MSL. N = 321 MSLs + MSL Managers.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Raised the Need for Emotional Intelligence
- MSLs, internal colleagues, and KOLs are all juggling new realities as they adjust to working remotely from home, telemedicine, zoom calls, and juggling multiple work and family responsibilities. Motivation and the ability to self-regulate help all of us adapt to changing circumstances.
- Being able to “read the situation” and to empathize is critical when engaging with another individual both internally in the organization and externally with KOLs and other customers.
- Social skills and awareness of what challenges another person is experiencing or feeling are always important. These skills matter even more in today’s environment, all the more so, as the majority of our interactions shift from face-to-face to virtual platforms.
- When engaging with international stakeholders, MSLs need to heighten their sense of global awareness to recognize that different countries are going to be in different stages of the pandemic and may handle the situation differently from the way we have handled it.
Empathy Is at the Heart of Building Relationships with Internal and External Stakeholders
- It’s much easier to be empathetic when you understand who a person is. For that reason, MSLs should, as always, do their homework before entering a conversation with a KOL. Taking it a step further, MSLs can start the conversation by uncovering KOLs’ needs and concerns.
- A KOL who sees that you care about them and their patients will be more willing to participate in the conversation. Asking the KOL what has changed for them during the pandemic is a good place to start. For example, has their practice decreased, are they safe if they are going into a clinic or hospital, how has the need to treat and manage their patients virtually affected patient care, and so on.
- MSLs also need to look for verbal and visual cues. Is the KOL distracted, is someone else in the background? On a personal level, do they have children or loved ones at home, has their spouse lost their job, is anyone in their circle sick?
- Empathy builds trust. For this reason, MSLs who begin conversations by acknowledging and addressing the KOL’s reality first will build stronger, more robust relationships in the long-term.
- All of the above can, and should, be applied to internal colleagues and stakeholders as well. MSL managers who can understand their team members’ barriers and minimize them, create flexible deliverables, and show empathy for their team members’ situation will build stronger teams.
- On a practical note, virtual coffee breaks, where teams can talk about any topic except work, are great for developing relationships within the team in a virtual environment.
Dealing with ZOOM Fatigue is Part of Our Shared Reality
- Our customers might be spending most of their days on virtual calls, telemedicine, etc., and, like the rest of us, are likely experiencing some degree of zoom fatigue. A few simple strategies can help ensure that you and your customers connect in a productive way.
- Be clear: set an agenda and be clear about your objectives.
- Be kind and flexible about their schedule; offer a different time to meet or a shorter call.
- Get creative: use their network and explore the possibility that you might be able to get the information you seek from another person on their team such as study nurse or a medical fellow.
- Tap into empathy: For those KOLs who struggle with virtual platforms, explore what the reasons are. If it is a training need, look for ways to facilitate that. If it is due to an unwilling ness to change, start by acknowledging that their feelings are reasonable, and work up from there, perhaps connecting them with their peers who have adopted the technology.
Practical Points for Improving Your EQ
- Stay curious: Continue exploring what brought you to this webinar and/or summary.
- Stay open to change: maintain or develop a growth mindset.
- Validate your EQ with your peers or supervisors.
- Teach emotional intelligence to others.
Source
All information is summarized from the Medical Science Liaison Society’s MSL Insights Weekly Show on the topic of “The Importance of Emotional Intelligence for Effective MSL-KOL Engagements,” which aired on August 14, 2020.
Author
Darina Frieder, B.Sc., Ph.D. – Founder and Writer at Science Nerd for Hire
Darina Frieder is an experienced Medical Affairs professional and is currently a Medical Science Liaison at UCB Pharma. She also runs her own medical writing business, Science Nerd for Hire. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband, 2 kids, and 1 temperamental cat. She is passionate about many things, a few of which are gardening, creating delicious meals for family and friends, and reading as many books as she can.
by Darina Frieder, BSc, PhD | Aug 28, 2020 | MSL Inisghts Summaries
On The Medical Science Liaison Society’s 12th MSL Insights Weekly Show, the MSL Society CEO Samuel Dyer, Ellen Shannon, Head of US Medical Affairs at Valneva and, Rob Consalvo, Director of Strategic Commercial Engagement at H1 led an insightful discussion on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on product launch plans.
The panel shared their thoughts and experiences on how medical affairs teams can, and indeed have, adapt to ensure a successful product launch during the pandemic. The entire show can be heard here and the key takeaways from the show are summarized below.
And if you appreciate my summary, do let me know. Enjoy!
There is an opportunity for MSLs to add value to a greater number of KOLs
- While the majority of MSLs or MSL managers stated that the number of MSL-KOL interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic should remain the same or decrease, the panel explored the possibility that the number of interactions could potentially increase.
- The reduction in the amount of time that was previously spent traveling to and from KOL sites could be reallocated toward broadening MSLs’ reach and bringing value to a greater number of KOLs.
- Where there is potential for broader interactions that bring value, digital technologies – asynchronous exchanges, webinars, and virtual meetings, to name a few – can be leveraged to reach a wider number of KOLs.
- At the same time, the challenges of working from home in our new reality, possibly with added responsibilities like caring for children, schooling, or being sick, need to be acknowledged and addressed at the individual and team level.
Figure 1. Responses to a survey on the status of the number of KOL relationships that MSLs and MSL managers believe should be maintained by MSLs during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey conducted by the Medical Science Liaison Society. The question was based on previous data indicating that the median number of KOL relationships maintained by MSLs is 40. N = 200 MSLs + MSL Managers.
Changes to launch plans
- Launch plans, like most other activities, have suffered delays during COVID-19. Those initial delays, if left unmitigated, will cause a domino effect to all subsequent activities.
- Where organizations had planned on hiring additional FTEs to support launch activities, hiring freezes meant they had to do more with less.
Adjustment made to mitigate launch plan delays
Medical affairs teams got creative and found ways to make up for lost time by:
- Running activities concurrently rather than sequentially as previously planned;
- Redeploying commercial colleagues, whose activities ground to a halt because they were unable to meet with customers, to help execute certain launch plan activities;
- Training and reassigning cross-functional colleagues to help medical affairs teams;
- MSLs taking on roles that they otherwise would not have been involved in; and
- Consultants being brought in to help supplement and fill remaining gaps.
MSLs have taken on new roles and enhanced their skill sets
As a result of the changes to launch plans, MSLs have had opportunities to take on new roles and learn new skills. In some cases, MSLs are now involved in:
- Planning, rather than executing, advisory board;
- Developing resources that they previously did not work on; and
- Reviewing literature that they would not have accessed in the past.
Despite the obvious challenges, some success stories have emerged
- Increased global interactions with affiliates;
- Increased communication and better engagement of cross-functional colleagues;
- Increased visibility of the value of medical affairs;
- Increased energy and productivity from team members who were reassigned or given new opportunities; and finally,
- An opportunity to re-examine the old way of doing things and finding new ways to improve.
Source
All information is summarized from the Medical Science Liaison Society’s MSL Insights Weekly Show on the topic of “Navigating the Impact of COVID-19 to Ensure a Successful Product Launch,” which aired on August 7, 2020.
Author
Darina Frieder, B.Sc., Ph.D. – Founder and Writer at Science Nerd for Hire
Darina Frieder is an experienced Medical Affairs professional and is currently a Medical Science Liaison at UCB Pharma. She also runs her own medical writing business, Science Nerd for Hire. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband, 2 kids, and 1 temperamental cat. She is passionate about many things, a few of which are gardening, creating delicious meals for family and friends, and reading as many books as she can.
