Picture this. You’re an engineer who is presenting your research to senior level executives. You painstakingly develop your slides, making sure to explain your work in exacting detail. In fact, the title of your presentation, in your opinion, is the perfect summary of your current research. “CSF1R Agonists Elicit Distinct ERK Activation and Heterogeneity Profiles in Homeostatic and Diseased Microglia…
If you work in a technical role, chances are you like precision. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. But what if you’re in a situation where you’re not sure what to say at all? Speaking off the cuff is such a situation. Your boss asks you in the hallway how a project is going. You’re asked a…
Want a low pressure way to improve your public speaking skills? Appear as a guest on podcasts. There are over 400,000 active podcasts, so you can definitely find some that would love to have you as a guest. As a podcast guest, your speaking skills will improve because you’ll get practice answering questions extemporaneously. You can also build relationships with…
An acquaintance recently recounted an instance from a technical conference she attended. I won’t reveal the conference, of course! The keynote speaker went through a bevy of text-laden slides. It was difficult to read and listen at the same time. It was obvious the speaker wasn’t keeping track of time, because he finished his talk after his allotted time. When…
Picture this. You’re an engineer who is presenting at an upcoming technical conference. Presenting in front of people has never really been your strong suit, but you’re determined to do a good job in front of your peers. How do you prepare for the presentation? Start with the end in mind. Ever heard of a call to action (CTA)? It’s…
Voice speed. Is this something you think about when giving presentations? If not, you may want to reconsider. Speaking too fast makes it difficult for people to digest what you’re saying. Speaking too slow may induce boredom or even sleepiness! What’s the happy medium? 140 words per minute. That’s how fast the average person talks. If you speak at this…
