Successful Speaking for Technical Professionals

“As an evolving program is continually changed, its complexity… increases unless work is done to maintain or reduce it.”   — Meir M. Lehman, computer scientist and pioneer of the Laws of Software Evolution   Engineers can spend large portions of their time fixing legacy systems, addressing defects, updating documentation, and dealing with technical debt instead of designing and building something...

“The extra effort that it takes to add new features is the interest paid on the debt.” — Martin Fowler, British software developer, author of Technical Debt , 2019, and international public speaker on software development   Engineers contend with technical debt daily.  But what exactly is technical debt? Technical debt is the future cost created when an organization chooses a quick or suboptimal t...

“Meetings are a symptom of bad organization. The fewer meetings the better.” — Peter F. Drucker, management consultant and author   One of the most frustrating activities for engineers is attending inefficient meetings. Engineers are taught in engineering school to always use the most efficient design.  Why can’t this apply to the meetings they attend? The truth is, meetings can be more efficient...

“When you get to about 70% of all possible data, it’s probably time to make a decision and not wait for the last 30. That’s judgment.” — General Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff   You’ve delivered your technical presentation, hoping executives in the audience will decide. But at the end of your presentation, no decision is made.  How frustratin...

  “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower, General of the Army and 34th President of the United States   You deal with risk every day. You deal with risk when you drive to work. You deal with risk every time your son or daughter plays soccer. You deal with risk as an airline passenger. And you deal with risk every day as an engineer.  Risk management is part and p...

“Bad news isn't wine. It doesn't improve with age.” — Colin Powell, American U.S. Army general, diplomat, and statesman   Are you intimidated by the idea of disagreeing with an executive in your company?  Many engineers are.   You may feel that disagreeing with an executive will hurt your credibility, your chances for promotion, or even keep you from keeping your job. When done the right...

“When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it.” — William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, was one of the most influential physicists and engineers of the 19th century    Engineers routinely work with probabilities, assumptions, incomplete data, forecasts, simulations, and technical risk.  The challenge is to acknowledge what is unknown while remain...

“If you can’t communicate and talk to other people and get across your ideas, you’re giving up your potential.” --- Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway    Technical competence may earn professionals credibility, but strong presentation skills help decision-makers see, understand, and trust that competence.   For engineers and other technical professionals, presenting effectively...

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood." — Stephen R. Covey, from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989). Covey (1932–2012) was an educator, leadership consultant, and internationally recognized author.   Technical expertise may earn engineers a seat at the table, but communication earns them influence.  The engineers who are most respected by colleagues, managers, and...

"Trust is equal parts character and competence. You can look at any leadership failure, and it's always a failure of one or the other." -- Stephen Covey, American author, educator, leadership consultant, and businessman   Senior executives often decide within the first few minutes whether a presentation deserves their attention.  They are evaluating not only the technical content bu...

"Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple." — Steve Jobs (1955–2011), Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc     Hybrid and virtual meetings have become a permanent part of technical work, bringing together team members, clients, and stakeholders from around the world.  Technical professionals who adapt their communication...

"Remember, you are there to clearly and concisely communicate important information—not to show off and use big words."    — Harry T. Roman,   Engineer, inventor, educator, and author of Public Speaking for Engineers ,     Technical expertise earns respect, which is necessary to influence your audience, but it is not sufficient to convince them. Memorable communication earns influence. M...

"There's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas."   -- Susan Cain, American author, lecturer, and former lawyer.   Your ability to project confidence and executive presence is vital to your presentations and your career. Audiences engage more with speakers who are confident in their material and delivery. This podcast suggests three ways to do this....

“ Questions are never indiscreet; answers sometimes are.”   — Oscar Wilde, one of the most celebrated literary figures of the Victorian era, known for his wit, plays, and insightful commentary on society.     Most speakers dread audience questions.  This is unfortunate because questions reveal what interests your audience. To ensure you are effective when addressing questions, in this podcast epis...

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, engineer, pilot, and writer known for his insights on simplicity and design.   You studied and practice your technical area of expertise because you like detail.  However, when you are delivering a technical presentation, detail can be deadly. The detail in you...

“Your audience is the hero of your presentation.”   - Nancy Duarte from Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences    Have you ever delivered a technical presentation to an engineering audience, and your audience members’ faces were like “deer in the headlights” Audiences who aren't engaged by the speaker are bored and don’t retain or implement what you say. In today's pod...

“Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet service to see who they really are.” — Will Ferrell, comedian and actor   Two weeks ago, my wife, Elaine, and I moved to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, just outside of Charleston.  We loved living in Northern Virginia, but we wanted to move to a warmer climate.   We weren’t disappointed.  The beaches, the Cha...

“ In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”— Sun Tzu from The Art of War ,    My wife, Elaine, and I recently moved from Northern Virginia to the Charleston, South Carolina, area.  To say our move was chaotic is an understatement.  The packing, moving, and unpacking (which is still ongoing) were and are stressful. This chaos of moving to another state got me thinking about the chaos that...

“People don’t want perfect; they want real .” – Modern audience engagement trend   Excellent public speakers keep up with the latest audience trends. This podcast explores three audience trends for which public speakers should take advantage. References Gallo, C. (2022). The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman . St. Martin’s Press. Discusses how tech-savvy leade...

“What you do for yourself dies with you. What you do for others is immortal.” — Albert Pike, attorney and writer     On this Memorial Day, it is proper to remember those who have given their lives so we may enjoy our freedom.  Memorial Day in the United States began as a way to honor and remember soldiers who died in military service, particularly those who died during the Civil War, both Union an...

“It’s not the words that count, but the moment you made them feel something.” — Nancy Duarte, CEO of Duarte, Inc., and author of Resonate    A compelling and under-discussed topic for public speakers is the power of micro-moments – how small interactions shape audience perception. These micro-moments have a significant effect on engagement with your audience.  In this week's podcast episode,...

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.” — Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States   In my weekly articles, I have extensively discussed how to create, practice, and deliver presentations. However, I have not often discussed what you should do before you create your presentation. Before creating your presentation, you should take three essential pre...

“If you listen to your audience, they will tell you what you need to know.” — Lee Clow, American advertising executive, best known for creating the iconic “1984” Apple Macintosh commercial.     Speakers often consider what their audience can learn from them. Have you ever considered how much you can learn from your audience? This podcast episode explores three ways you can learn from your audience...

“When you position your customer [or audience] as the hero and yourself as the guide, you win the day.” -  Donald Miller in his book Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen     Donald Miller’s book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen (Harper Collins Leadership, 2025), discusses making your client the hero of your interaction. Y...

  "Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it 'to whom it may concern.'" — Ken Haemer, Presentation Research Manager at AT&T    This podcast episode covers the nitty-gritty of how to create, practice, and deliver excellent presentations. It contains practical processes for doing this you can implement immediately.