Teach the Geek: Public Speaking and Communication Skills for Technical Professionals

You're at a conference, listening to a talk. The presenter...absolutely sucks. He's reading the slides. His voice is monotone. He's not looking at the audience. You're doing all you can to keep from falling asleep. Here are some tips to not be that guy! TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com anchor.fm/teachthegeek youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

Today, my guest is Melissa Cristina Marquez. She is a lot of things: marine biologist, speaker, and writer.  While she got her undergraduate degree in Florida, she currently calls Australia home. We spoke about her journey to Oz, her beginnings in marine biology, and her favorite speaking topics.  Learn more about Melissa at https://www.melissacristinamarquez.com/ TEACH THE GEEK teachthe...

I offer some thoughts on the importance of receiving feedback from others to improve in public speaking.  TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com anchor.fm/teachthegeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

Justin Key, my guest today, has an interesting story. He got his degree in Math, and is now an actor.  He’s also author of the book, “Mind Control: Change The Way You Think So You Can Live A LIMITLESS Life” and the audiobook "Mama knows best." We spoke about his journey from Math to acting, his books, and his work as a speaker. Learn more about Justin at https://www.justindkey.com/ TEACH THE...

My guest today, Aisha Lawrey, is an advocate for Engineering, having worked as a Director of Engineering education and currently working as a Director for the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering. We spoke about her current role, another initiative she is involved in (STEM IF/WHEN Ambassador), and her favorite public speaking topics.  Connect with Aisha at https://www.linkedi...

Today’s guest, Elizabeth Payne, trained in Chemical Engineering, but she’s also an empowerment coach. I learned about what she does as an empowerment coach, and also how she went from engineer to coach.  Find out more about Elizabeth at https://elizabethpayne.com/ TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com anchor.fm/teachthegeek youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

My guest today, Mike Roberts, started the San Diego Code School to offer an affordable means for people to learn coding. It now serves to place people in apprenticeships at companies. I was curious to find out how it all works.  Learn more about the code school at sdcs.io TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com anchor.fm/teachthegeek youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek...

My guest today, Scott Hanselman, works for Microsoft with its web platform team. He’s also a teacher and speaker and host of podcasts and a YouTube channel.  I spoke about how she got into software engineering, his favorite speaking topics, and his podcasts and YouTube channel. TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com anchor.fm/teachthegeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_te...

Today’s guest, Tyrone Jacobs, Jr., is an electrical engineer and speaker. He is also heavily involved in the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE); he recently became the Region VI Professionals chair. I’m interested to hear more about his journey in engineering thus far, his involvement in NSBE, and public speaking, of course.    Check Tyrone out on Instagram (@mrpositivevibes) and...

My guest today, Assata Caldwell Worrell, has a job unlike anyone I’ve had on the channel. She is a medical and scientific illustrator, the found of Legacy BioStudios. Instead of verbal communication, she’s about visual communication.  I’m very interested to find out how she got into medical illustration, and the benefits of putting more effort into images on slides. Learn more about Assata at...

My guest today, Mathew Picardal, is a Civil Engineer who hosts his own YouTube channel, Structural Engineering Life. The goal of the channel is to help engineers with technical, business and soft skills. He also co-hosts the Structural Engineering Channel podcast. We spoke with him about his interest in Civil Engineering, the motivation for his YouTube channel, and the ways in which public speakin...

My guest today, Sandy Williams, is the President and Founder of Access Biomedical Solutions. With a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Sandy helps companies with strategy, funding sources, marketing, and product management.  We chatted about her work as a consultant, the lessons she learned in her career, and the ways in which public speaking has benefited her.  Learn more about Sandy at htt...

The Financial Times had an interesting article on speaking millennial. I almost didn't finish it... Link to the article: https://www.ft.com/content/04ddf0f8-4230-11e8-93cf-67ac3a6482fd?fbclid=IwAR209vESY0tiugMlgWJqTfC_ZmbJfhUMTTlXtAnmHlR_ZbwleK7k02htnSM TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com anchor.fm/teachthegeek youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

Want to improve your public speaking? Consider adding some routine! TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com anchor.fm/teachthegeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

People often get stressed out about public speaking. But when you know your subject well, it becomes less stressful. Today's video talks about that.  Link to article: https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Barack-Obama-is-speaking-at-a-tech-conference-12928567.php TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

My guest today, Terry Suffredini, is the Engineer’s Coach. She helps engineers figure out what they want their careers to be, then helps them develop a plan to make it happen. We spoke about her motivation to become a coach, the lessons she learned in her career, and the ways in which public speaking has benefited her.  Check out Terry's website at https://theengineerscoach.com/ TEACH THE GEE...

Want to increase your confidence when public speaking? I reviewed this article by Chris Dunn in Entrepreneur magazine that explains how to do just that.  Link to article: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281874 TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

Inc. Magazine and Rhett Power have some invaluable things to say about public speaking. Check out the article at https://www.inc.com/rhett-power/3-public-speaking-tips-youve-probably-never-thought-about.html. TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

I reviewed an article I read entitled, "If You’re Petrified of Giving a Presentation, Read This." Some pretty good nuggets. Link to the article: https://fortune.com/2016/06/03/public-speaking-presentation-tips TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

While I personally don’t have the patience for programming, Louvere Walker-Hannon does, as she is a senior applications engineer at Mathworks, the maker of MATLAB. She does speaking, too, and has presented at several conferences. We spoke about her job at Mathworks, her interest in public speaking, any tips she can provide to get better at public speaking. TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com youtube.t...

Mel Butcher has an interesting story. She got a degree in French Language and Literature, then went back to school to study Civil Engineering. In addition to being an engineer, she’s also a podcaster. On the Empowering Women podcast, Mel interviews women from various industries to learn their stories and secrets to success. She also puts out videos on LinkedIn, offering advice to young engineers....

Shoots Veis is an engineer and a public speaking advocate. In fact, he wrote a whole book about public speaking, called Public Speaking for Engineers. We spoke about his journey in public speaking as an engineer, and the motivation for writing his book.  Learn more about the book at http://www.shootsveis.com/book.html TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB,...

Apart from her job at Johnson Controls, Jenny Sivie is a speaker, teaching kids the importance of STEM.  We spoke about her own journey in STEM, the message she wants to leave kids with, and why she speaks to kids in the first place. TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

Jennifer Swanson is a speaker and author of over 40 children’s books with STEM themes. She also founded KidLiteracy, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to improving children's literacy, and created STEM Tuesday, a weekly blog for middle school and YA STEM books. She also started STEAMTeam2020, a marketing group of 40+ children's authors that focuses on bringing attention to newly released STEM/STEAM book...

Olli Wueseke is a Director of R&D for a biotech company and a fervent supporter of science communication. Holding a PhD in Molecular Biology, we chatted about the importance of public speaking for scientists, his current work, and his communication style to his team.     TEACH THE GEEK teachthegeek.com youtube.teachthegeek.com @teachthegeek (FB, Twitter) @_teachthegeek_ (IG)