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In this episode, I answer some questions from our listeners and subscribers about building communication skills, improving public speaking, and strategies for overcoming being overqualified for a position you want.
I’ve had the honor of speaking to thousands of engineers across the world over the years, which has helped me to understand why public speaking is so important to any professional. It gives you the ability to reach and impact a lot of people.
That being said, there’s been a few times, where I showed up to speak and everything went wrong, and I had to adjust. This happens more often than not and that’s why I am really excited to share the following story with you from our guest author for this week Shoots Veis, P.E, author of Public Speaking for Engineers, about engineering presentations. Enjoy it…
Don’t Ignore Opportunities to Celebrate Engineering is a guest post by
Shoots Veis, P.E.
It was Engineers Week and I attended a nice banquet to celebrate. The evening commenced with drinks and socializing among local engineers and their guests, followed by a decent dinner. The program began mid-meal, with the emcees telling jokes and getting the proceedings underway. First up, scholarships were given to local high school seniors intending to study engineering. The outreach events from the past year were then highlighted and a new batch of Professional Engineers were given plaques after reciting the Engineers’ Creed. A heartfelt moment was shared when a new member of the Engineering Hall of Fame was introduced and reflected on his career.
The evening went along fruitfully until the Project of the Year awards. All the goodwill and energy in the room built up over the evening was quickly drained from the room with back-to-back dreadful speeches by engineers receiving Project of the Year awards. It was like an iron curtain dropped to halt all of the evening’s enjoyment. The first engineer/speaker received the small project award. He was unprepared to speak about the project, rambled off subject, and could not make himself heard. It was dreadful.
Speech Preparation is a guest post by Shoots Veis, P.E.
I’m always excited when I get to deliver a speech, so I sent in an application to speak at a conference of operators on one of my favorite subjects. I had spent two months with speech preparation and would be able to deliver it a couple of times for practice, between the acceptance at the conference and the day I would speak. My proposal was accepted and I celebrate each time I get to convey the message, because I want my audience to walk away with a heightened appreciation for infrastructure.
Developing the presentation was not a burden because I believe in the issue and expended the effort necessary to develop a good speech. I focused on defining the scope and objectives to fit them into a 30 to 45-minute time frame. I found just the right story to open the speech and used graphical slides to reinforce each point. I practiced several times before my first delivery and made small adjustments to the presentation after each delivery. I have given the speech many times and it has never failed to be a hit.
Five Benefits of Public Speaking is a guest post by Shoots Veis, P.E.
Engineering is a tough job that is dedicated to completing complicated designs that solve complex problems. Solving those problems is not up to the engineer alone, but requires a team effort of partners to secure financing, address the social and environmental impacts, determine the best design options and construction techniques and tackle a host of issues that arise during a project. That means engineers must communicate with others to get their work done and sometimes that means giving a speech to an audience who needs to know what you know. One of the benefits of public speaking related to standing in front of an audience is that it lets your team’s engineering design (and you) stand out in a world that is crowded with experts.
This is a guest post by Shoots Veis, P.E.
Engineers use a variety of tools to complete their daily tasks. The list may include a calculator, a computer with the right software, and a book of engineering standards. These tools support the practice of engineering and make for a more productive engineer. They assist the engineer, but they do not replace the practice of engineering.
The same principle applies to an effective presentation. Visual aids, including the set of slides that are shown during the speech, should be a tool to assist with communication, not a crutch for the speaker to lean on because they didn’t prepare. Too many speakers believe creating a slide deck is all there is to public speaking. Instead of properly preparing and delivering a good speech, they rely on poorly designed visual aids to do the work for them.
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In this episode, I talk about Lu Ding, PE, PTOE, an Engineer who overcame her fear of public speaking in one year. I specifically discuss her ECSx talk at the Engineering Career Summit in New Orleans this past May. You will also here Lu’s talk in this episode and you can watch it at the bottom of this post.
Engineering Success quotes:
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In this episode, Anthony Knutson, PE interviews Carl Friesen, a professional who likes helping engineering professionals and firms build their profile as thought-leaders. Friesen talks specifically about how to build your expertise and thought leadership through public speaking.
Engineering Success quotes:
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In this session of The Engineering Career Coach Podcast, I interview Rashid Kapadia who is an author of book entitled Necessary Bridges, and he talks about how engineers can improve their public speaking skills and get into the flow or put themselves in an atmosphere to succeed.
Rashid N. Kapadia, PMP, is a speaker, project manager, engineer, consultant, and author. Born & raised in India, he started his career in the merchant navy, where for over 17 years he progressed from marine engineering apprentice to chief engineer.
Rashid moved to the US in 1995 pursuing a Masters degree in Marine Management and other advanced marine commercial certifications in Chartering and Agency. In the US, over 17 years, he worked for 3 organizations providing leadership in commercial merchant shipping, chartering & operations, marine and offshore engineering and repair operations, project management, and business development.
In 2014 he took a career sabbatical to write a book and polish his public speaking skills. In 2015, along with his wife, he co-founded Necessary Bridges, Inc. Rashid is a lifelong student and an avid reader, constantly looking for new knowledge that can be applied to uplift engineers and solve problems.
In the Take Action Today segment at the end of the show, I give you some tips on how to get a good night sleep.
Listen to this session and learn some of the key points Rashid discussed in this episode including: [Read more…]
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In this session of The Engineering Career Coach Podcast, I answer 10 questions related to career and personal development, submitted by The Engineering Career Coach Podcast listeners. In fact, I received so many questions that this will be the first of two shows in this format.
The career-changing tip at the end of the show will provide you with one actionable step that can help you overcome ANY challenge in your engineering career.
Below are the 10 questions that I answer on this show, each followed by a one-sentence snippet of the answer: [Read more…]
