Featured Guest Blogger: Susan de la Vergne
Life is too short to sit through one more boring technical presentation in your engineering career. Yet there you go, off to another one.
Technical Presenters
It’s a design review or project update, a test planning meeting or a problem solving session, and you know what you’re in for: an hour in a dimly lit room, staring at projected bullet lists of talking points as well as the occasional “eye chart,” all the while listening to a sincere presenter cram as much information as possible into the little time he or she has.
There’s a perfectly understandable reason we find ourselves, more often than not, at boring technical presentations, and it is this: engineers and technical professionals are subject matter experts in their fields, but not, alas, expert presenters or public speakers. They know their material, often at a very detailed level, and they’re pressed for time, eager to compress as much knowledge into as little time and space as possible in the name of efficiency. They value content over form, prefer certainty over uncertainty, and determinism over ambiguity.
These characteristics make them successful engineers, but being a good presenter calls on a different set of abilities—the ability, for example, to detect confusion in the audience and make adjustments on the fly, or the ability to manage a heated discussion when it erupts.
What skills help you to do these things? [Read more...]
Powerful Purpose Associates is founded on the expertise of Anthony Fasano, P.E., author of the acclaimed engineering career development book "Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career" (Premier Publishing 2011). It is a comprehensive, easy to read book, aimed at helping engineers develop their soft skills and leadership abilities to create extraordinary engineering careers. Order your copy now:
Anthony Fasano, P.E., aka Your Professional Partner, founded Powerful Purpose Associates after he realized that it was the development of his soft skills that helped him to become an associate partner at a reputable engineering firm at the young age of 27. With history as a civil engineer, Anthony is now a nationally recognized executive coach and inspirational speaker, specializing in the areas of engineering career development, as well as leadership. He uses his highly effective coaching and speaking techniques through affordable programs to help engineers develop their soft skills, work through blocks, prioritize effectively, set clear goals and achieve their maximum potential.
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