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

Michelle Brenner went to art school. She eventually traded in art for code, becoming a self-taught engineer. In addition, Michelle is a speaker, presenting at multiple conferences on both technical topics and career growth. How does somebody go from an artist to an engineer? Tune in to find out! __ TEACH THE GEEK In STEM and struggle with public speaking? Get some tips at teachthegeek.com/tips @te...

Chiropractor, author, and speaker Dr. Danielle Peebles Dr. Danielle Peebles is a chiropractor, owner of Pro Health Family Chiropractic. She’s also an author, with a book called Sex Sent me to the Chiropractor. I definitely asked her about that! Dr. Peebles is also a speaker. We chatted about her speaking topics, the motivation for writing her book, and her choice to become a chiropractor.  To...

Building the career you want with Andrea Martin Andrea Martin founded Andrea Martin Consulting to help people advance in their careers. She’s also host of the Career Confessions Podcast. I follow her on LinkedIn, and after commenting on one of her posts, she said that it’d be cool for us to have a conversation on a podcast. I understand that to mean, “Neil, invite me to be a guest on your podcast....

Need a prosthetic limb? Call Dr. Erin Keaney Dr. Erin Keaney is the co-founder of Nonspec, a company that manufactures cost-effective prosthetic limbs. She’s also an adjunct professor, teaching students about medical device design and regulation. I heard her speak on a podcast and thought her story was so interesting, I wanted to speak to her myself. Gladly, she said yes, after I emailed her twice...

From cybersecurity to painting with Sarba Roy Sarba Roy is a product security staff engineer. I have no clue what that means, so I definitely asked her about that. She’s also Cybersecurity Content Creator for AccessCyber and Founding member and Ambassador of WomenH2H. I asked her about both of those, too. She’s a folk artist, too (a painter to be exact). She definitely has a bunch of interests, an...

Kerry Siggins, an engineer who rose to CEO Kerry Siggins is a CEO, a podcaster, and a speaker. One doesn’t just start off as a CEO (unless they formed their own company out the gate), so we chatted about her path to CEO. She hosts two podcasts, so we talked about the motivation behind them.  As a speaker, she uses her personal story mixed in with leadership lessons she has learned along the w...

David Giltner, going from academia to industry Return guest David Giltner is the founder of TurningScience, helping scientists and engineers build careers in industry. He’s also author of the book "It's a Game, Not a Formula: How to Succeed as a Scientist Working in the Private Sector". We talked about his book, and what academics who are thinking about making the switch to industry can do to prep...

Dr. Zina Cinker, a non-traditional path Dr. Zina Cinker is the Director General of the Advanced Material Pandemic Taskforce and a visiting scientist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. I’ve heard the term visiting scientist, and have always thought, when’s the visit over? When have your overstayed your welcome and they ask you to go home? The taskforce sounds interesting, too, so we defini...

Erica Lee Garcia, whats WinSETT? Erica Lee Garcia founded Erica Lee Consulting to help companies improve their business processes. She founded Engineers of Tomorrow to get kids thinking differently about engineering. She’s also the National Leadership Program Director of WinSETT (Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology) Centre Canada, whose goal is to help women grow and stay in techn...

Julie Hood, why should I pinch 2 fingers together?  Julie Hood founded CoursecreatorsHQ.com to help people build online courses to generate passive income. She’s also host of the Course Creators HQ podcast. While what Julie does now is quite interesting, I was keen to know more about what she did before becoming a course creation consultant, given that she has a background in computer science...

Dr. Moriba Jah is an astrophysicist and he’s a big deal because he has his own Wikipedia page. He’s definitely the first guest I’ve had that I can say that about. He’s also a professor and a founder. When I think astrophysics, I think of the show, The Big Bang Theory, and I wouldn’t characterize any of the main characters as public speakers. But Dr. Jah is that, too. He is a TED fellow, in fact. W...

Tom Kirkham - from Economics to Cybersecurity Tom Kirkham is a cybersecurity expert and speaker. What does he speak on? Cybersecurity (big surprise). He’s also a soon-to-be author of the book "The Cyber Pandemic Survival Guide". How did a guy who studied Economics end up in Cybersecurity? Doesn’t exactly seem like a straight line. And how did public speaking figure into all of this? Listen in to f...

EP. 207: Lindsay O'Leary - from engineer to engineering association director Lindsay O’Leary is the Director of Technical Advancement of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). She was Executive Director of the ASCE – Texas Section before that, and even before that, she worked in varying engineering roles within the civil engineering discipline. We chatted about her motivation to make the...

Jennifer Hogan, how do I get my first engineering job?  Jennifer Hogan is the Professional Development Coordinator for Clemson University’s Bioengineering department. I wanted to talk to her because she is heavily involved with preparing engineering students for the workforce. I often talk about the importance of public speaking on this platform, but all the public speaking skills won’t mean...

Talking plant breeding with Dr. Magan Lewis Dr. Magan Lewis is the first plant breeder I've spoken to. I didn't even realize that was a thing, so we definitely chatted about it. She's also a big proponent of STEM outreach. We spoke about that, too. Because I learned about her from a keynote she gave, public speaking was also on the menu! To get in touch with Dr. Lewis, her instagram handle is @drm...

Talking Petroleum Engineering with Zachary Evans Zachary Evans is a reservoir storage engineer. I must admit I had no idea what that meant; I definitely found out during our conversation. He’s also the Regional Director for North America of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). We talked about his interest in petroleum engineering, his work with SPE, and the ways in which public speaking has b...

From Engineering to Journalism with Manjula Selvarajah Manjula Selvarajah is a journalist and columnist on technology and education. She even worked for a time in marketing. But it all started with an engineering degree. We chatted about how an engineer went into journalism, how her engineering background benefits her curren work, and when she realized that public speaking could be of benefit to h...

From Operations to Coaching with Gary Smith Gary Smith is a business coach and author. He worked for years in operations management before embarking on his journey as a coach. We chatted about how his engineering background prepared him for life as a coach, why he decided to make the transition, and how public speaking has benefited him. Check out Gary's website at https://garylsmith.com/. __ TEAC...

Nanoengineering professor & podcaster Dr. Darren Lipomi Dr. Darren Lipomi is a professor in nanoengineering, studying the areas of soft electronics for solar cells, biosensors, and artificial touch. He’s also a podcaster and has a YouTube channel, addressing topics related to STEM in academia. We chatted about his journey to becoming a professor, his research, and the ways in which public spea...

Becoming a professional engineer with Britt Smith Britt Smith embarked on a civil engineering career that eventually led to him becoming president-elect of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). We spoke about where his interest in Engineering came from, whether the working world was what he thought it would be, and what was the motivation to be involved in NSPE leadership.  ...

Inspiring the engineers of tomorrow with Rebecca White Rebecca White is the CEO of Engineers of Tomorrow, an organization whose goal is to talk differently about the STEM professions to kids, with a focus on engineering. She worked in manufacturing positions before moving into the non-profit world. We chatted about the motivation to move from the for-profit  world to the non-profit one, her w...

How does acupuncture inform burnout, Cait Donovan? Cait Donovan is a burnout coach, a podcast host, and a keynote speaker. It’s her beginnings that I find fascinating, though. Cait’s journey is exactly what this podcast has come to symbolize: just because you start in a certain place doesn’t mean you have to continue down a particular path. She was a pre-med major originally, but left that and eve...

The entrepreneurial structural engineer, Ed Quesenberry Ed Quesenberry is a structural engineer who was an employee for years before striking out on his own and creating his own firm, Equilibrium Engineers, LLC.  It’s so easy to be an employee. You do your job, and money ends up in your account on a predictable basis. Being an entrepreneur is another beast altogether. We chatted about his mot...

Ethical Sustainability with systems engineer Dr. Jon Wade Dr. Jon Wade is a systems engineer who has worked in industry and academia. Currently he is in the latter.  Dr. Wade is also an expert in ethical sustainability. I wanted to speak with him specifically because I have no clue what ethical sustainability is. We also spoke about his journey in systems engineering and the moment he realize...

Teach the Geek - public speaking for engineers Anand Safi works as engineering manager but is also a tech mentor and startup advisor. My podcast isn’t the first one he has been a guest on, so he obviously must present well. We spoke about his journey to engineering management, the moment he realized that public speaking could be of use to him, and the difference between being a tech mentor and a s...