Public Speaking for Engineers

Public speaking is not something that comes naturally to most people, and less so to engineers in general. Many people simply avoid public speaking because it makes them uncomfortable or they think they are bad at it. Engineers, I think, are usually not natural born public speakers, and typically start off with some handicaps in this area. I’m certainly not an expert on public speaking, but I’ve done enough of it to maybe pass on a few tips on the things I’ve learned. As you might expect, I don’t really “follow the book” as far as common recommendations from experts, but if I have any success at all in public speaking, it is simply because I try to be relaxed, genuine, and just be myself, for better or worse.

Not People-Centric

First, as engineers we tend to be numbers oriented and like to communicate visually or geometrically. Of course this is good news, and is probably why we chose this field in the first place, but the trade off is that we tend to be weak in language skills. In school, I did well in math, and not so well in English. I liked English, but just didn’t see things the same way as most of my teachers. If you are one of those who is not gifted with natural eloquence, it is best if you can recognize it, and not try to force things. For example, if you aren’t very good with words, don’t try to compensate by getting overly wordy, or using super vocabulary words. When trying to communicate, even formally in front of a bunch of people, it is most important to be comfortable and natural, which usually means just being yourself.

In our favor, being able to communicate visually is a good thing, and can be effective when mixed with language. CAD is all about visual communication, and your skills in this area are something you should learn to use to your best advantage. Presentations that engineers make often have a lot of visual content, and frankly, the more the better. Since we are good at something, we should play to our strengths.

Another down side of being numbers and visual oriented is that engineers are often more focused on things than on people. This can be the hardest part of public speaking. When I get up in front of a group, I try to imagine (whether it is true or not) that everybody is looking forward to hearing me speak, and that they want me to do well. Sometimes I look around and try to find someone I know, and smile at them. That makes me feel better, and hopefully the person smiles back, and that helps even more. An engaging speaker always looks at the crowd. You won’t get away with just looking down at your notes or at the computer, or even looking at the back wall, you have to make eye contact with people.

Know Your Stuff

I think that the best antidote against nerves or shyness is knowing your material. They wouldn’t have asked you to present unless you had a better than average grasp of the topic. Nothing can replace having studied the topic and possible arguments on both sides of any issues that might be controversial. Is it always possible to do this? Can you really be an expert on every topic you have to talk about? Well, I think you should be, but you don’t always get that luxury.

When it comes down to it, the most valuable commodity when speaking to a group is confidence. If you aren’t too sure about yourself or what you’re saying, the audience will pick up on that. It just turns out that one of the best ways to be confident is to really know your material. However, confidence is another one of those good things that can backfire on you if you rely too heavily on it. Overconfidence can seem like arrogance, or like you don’t really have sufficient respect for the topic or the audience. You’ve gotta know your limits.

In user group presentations, I sometimes have to back down and admit I just don’t know something. SolidWorks is a huge topic, and no one can be expected to know everything about it. It is best to admit you don’t know something before it becomes obvious to everyone that you don’t know it. It is even possible to be confident in saying that you don’t know something, which is better than getting embarrassed or snivelling. Avoid the “I’ll get back to you on that one”, because no one (including you) believes that you will. Instead consider saying something like, “I’m not as clear on this point as I would like to be, can we continue this discussion after the rest of the presentation?”

For example, next week I have to give a user group presentation on drawings. I usually avoid doing this if I have any choice. Yes, I actually did write the chapters in the book relating to drawings, but if you read the surfacing book, you’ll see that the only mention of drawings there is to explain why you don’t need them. Anyway, what am I going to present at the user group? Can I look like a drawings expert? No way. Here’s what I’m gonna do:

– read through some SW World presentations on the same topic, and steal -er, borrow- some ideas

– read through the chapters in the SW07 Bible so I know what I wrote

– outline some things I think are cool and useful or maybe not well known

– make sure to ask the group to participate – I’m just there to start the discussion and try things out as we have time

Ok, so my plan is basically to study the topic, and to treat the presentation as a discussion that I am moderating rather than some sort of a sermon. This approach works out better because I will learn something, the rest of the group will also learn stuff. I may accidentally show someone something they didn’t know, but more importantly, you can get group members participating, which in a user group is usually one of the most difficult things to do.

I’ve seen presentations where the presenter didn’t know much about the topic, but the session was rescued by audience participation. Encouraging participation is usually a good thing, but can definitely backfire on you. When you use this method, you need to be careful about not letting the audience take over. You may never regain control.\n\nJust to touch on stealing/borrowing material. I’ve been in presentations where my material was used verbatim by someone who didn’t give me credit, and another time by someone who did give me credit. It looks better for you when you credit your sources. No one comes up with 100% original presentation material, because most of the available topics have been touched on by other presenters. If you get an idea from someone, say so. Cross-referencing work looks good for both sides. If you get caught using someone elses stuff without crediting them, it won’t look good for you.

The Format

Powerpoint is much maligned in some circles. Still, it is a great improvement over the old-fashioned 35mm slide tray with the carousel projector. Be aware, though, that no one said you are limited to Powerpoint for presentations. I usually use Powerpoint to show what I consider to be the outline of my talk. The detailed narration of the talk should be annotated on the slides, but I personally never do that, because the narration usually happens spontaneously, and I always seem wooden if I’m reading from a script.

If you’re presenting on SolidWorks, remember to bounce back and forth between Powerpoint and SolidWorks. One guy who was otherwise a pretty smart feller used to pride himself on being able to give a 3 hour What’s New in a new version of the software without ever once starting the software. Let’s be clear about this: that’s a BAD thing. If a picture is worth a thousand words, showing the application live is worth a lot of Powerpoint slides.

Another medium you might try is to draw on a white board or paper on an easel. I even sometimes call up Paint on my Tablet PC and use the pen to freehand sketch if I don’t have access to a white board. Don’t be afraid to do things like this.

Shift Gears Mentally

My family was all musicians. I was used to performing and being on stage from a young age. Still, I was a naturally shy kid, strongly introverted, and I know you won’t believe me, but I still am. When I get up to speak, my voice changes. It almost becomes musical, like I’m singing, and it’s deeper. I just kind of shift gears mentally when I have to be “switched on” to be in front of people. A strong voice conveys confidence, and confidence makes speaking a little easier.

Practice

Nothing replaces practice. Practice to the dog. To your newborn baby. To the mirror. In the car. While riding your bike or running. Practice speaking at meetings at work. Really the best way to get practice is to ask to participate and give a 10-15 minute presentation at your user group. Leaders are always looking for people to present stuff, so take advantage of that.

Summary

So know your materials, be confident, connect with your audience, prepare mentally, and practice. Public speaking skills can help you in many areas of your life other than just SolidWorks User Groups, like weddings, meetings, family gatherings, anywhere you find a group of people who need to be addressed. The extra confidence can spill over into every thing you do.

Give it a try and report back and let us know how it went!