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Tag: public speaking

Becoming An Effective Speaker

Posted on by Bob
Right off the bat, I will apologize if this blog starts off as a memoir, but I promise I am eventually going to make a point. I was a shy teenage kid, a relatively new Boy Scout, attending a Leadership Camp intended to develop young scouts into better leaders.  It was a great experience, except […]

Right off the bat, I will apologize if this blog starts off as a memoir, but I promise I am eventually going to make a point.

I was a shy teenage kid, a relatively new Boy Scout, attending a Leadership Camp intended to develop young scouts into better leaders.  It was a great experience, except for one lesson which had such an impact on me that I remember it well over 50 years later.

About one hundred campers were sitting in the round, and the lesson for the day was to be “Public Speaking”.  The adult leading this lesson was a very intimidating man.  I suspect he had sized up the audience before he started, and looked for a young timid soul like myself; I was to become the focal point of the upcoming object lesson.  The adult announced that he wanted to demonstrate the importance of being well prepared to speak publicly.  To do this, he explained, he had approached a scout two days earlier and asked him to prepare a speech on the topic of his choice, a speech that he would be delivering at this lesson; the adult also told the scout of an opportunity to dry-run of the speech anytime he wanted, just to give the scout some practice.    This was to be the example of a “good” speech.  To demonstrate a “bad” speech, the adult instructor seemingly randomly picked me out of the audience, and had me come to the stage.  I was given a topic to speak about, and told to start speaking.  As expected, I delivered a disjointed, illogical, babbling mess of a speech.  It was truly a “bad” speech.  The audience laughed at me, and I was humiliated.  In hindsight, this object lesson would probably be considered hazing or abuse today.

In my later career as an engineer, I often had to deliver technical presentations.  Early in my career, I remained terrified of Public Speaking.  Later in my career, I became more skillful in the art of Public Speaking, and consequently, came to truly enjoy myself whenever given the chance to “Brief a Sponsor”.  Speaking publicly becomes more enjoyable, and more effective, if you know what you are doing.

One might think that knowing how to deliver a speech is intuitive, and that anyone can figure out how to do it without guidance.  Although many take this approach, a quality course on Public Speaking is a more effective way to improve your skill in this art better, and more quickly.  An ideal Public Speaking course might include topics such as:  

  • Why Excellent Presentation Skills Are Essential to Your Career Advancement
  • How to Reduce Your Fear of Public Speaking
  • How to Acquire Knowledge of Your Audience
  • How to Create In-Person and Virtual Technical Presentations
  • How to Practice In-Person and Virtual Technical Presentations
  • How to Deliver In-Person and Virtual Technical Presentations  

It turns out that ATI has exactly this course, and you have now have an opportunity to take Technical Presentation Skills for Scientists and Engineers.  This one-day short-course is a hands-on workshop that covers all the skills necessary to create, practice, and deliver successful technical presentations. All students will have the opportunity to develop technical presentations. Selected students will have the chance to deliver their technical presentations and receive evaluations from other students and the course instructor.

The ATI course will be delivered live, in a virtual environment.  This method of delivery will actually allow students to better tailor their Presentation skills for delivery in a virtual environment, a skill which is getting more important every day.

The instructor for this short-course is Frank DiBartolomeo.  He is an award-winning speaker, Professional Member of the National Speakers Association, Toastmasters International member for over thirty (30) years, and founder and President of DiBartolomeo Consulting International (DCI), a presentation skills coaching company. 

The short-course is being offered by ATI in June, but on May 6, ATI will be offering a free one-hour WEBEX presentation by Frank DiBartolomeo where he will be discussing what to expect in his full one-day workshop.  You can learn more about this May 6 free session, and register to attend at  Technical Prestentations Short Session .  Feel free to attend the free session even if you have no intention of taking the full workshop; maybe we can change your mind.    You can learn more about the one-day full course workshop, and register to attend at Technical Presentations Short Course .

And as always, a full listing of upcoming courses offered by ATI can be found at Upcoming  ATI Courses .

Public Speaking For STEM Professionals

Posted on by Bob
I was a very quiet and shy kid, and I think that must have been evident to the adult Scout Leader that was presenting a lecture to a large group of early teenage Boy Scouts attending Leadership Training back in the 70’s.  The lesson on this one day was Public Speaking, and the leader’s goal […]

I was a very quiet and shy kid, and I think that must have been evident to the adult Scout Leader that was presenting a lecture to a large group of early teenage Boy Scouts attending Leadership Training back in the 70’s.  The lesson on this one day was Public Speaking, and the leader’s goal was to demonstrate the importance of being well-prepared when delivering a speech.  As an object lesson, the instructor had found a charismatic kid the day before, and directed that kid to prepare a speech on some subject of the kid’s choosing, and to be prepared to deliver that speech on this day.  He was to become the example of a well-prepared speech.  On class day, the leader singled me out of the group, called me to the front, and announced that I would give a speech on a topic that the leader chose for me, and I was to start speaking immediately.  Needless to say, the speech did not go well, and I became his example of a not-well-prepared speech.  It was a horrifying experience for me, and no Scout Leader would do something so thoughtless to a kid today, but as horrifying and embarrassing as it was for me that day, it was also a memorable and important event which I still remember vividly over 50 years later.

After attending college, I got a job which required that I present the results of my work to the customer on a routine basis.  My first presentation did not go very well, and although I did not get fired, both my boss and I decided that there was lots of room for improvement.  That night, while thinking about what went wrong, I realized that I had fallen into the trap that my Scout Leader had warned against.  I had given that presentation without being prepared for all possible eventualities.  I had not been prepared to proceed if my overhead projector did not work, and it didn’t.  I had not been prepared to cover some topics in the event that my associate missed his flight, which he did.  And, I had not been prepared to answer some tough questions which my customers may have asked, and they did.  Over the span of my career, I worked hard to always be better prepared when I spoke, and I eventually became very proficient at public speaking.  In fact, later in my career, I started teaching, an occupation that requires public speaking skills more than any other, in my opinion.

STEM professionals need to be proficient in Public Speaking just as much as any other professional worker.  Although many STEM students are academically gifted, many may also lack social skills that other students take for granted, for example, Public Speaking.  For that reason, Public Speaking Instruction is a very important component of a STEM student’s coursework in all levels of schooling, and even in the professional workplace which follows schooling.  One can never be too smart in their social skills, or over -prepared to deliver a good speech.   

Applied Technology Institute has offered technical short courses for scientists and engineers since 1984.  This year, ATI has decided to start offering non-technical short courses that can also be very important for scientist and engineers.  One of our first non-technical offerings is a class on Public Speaking.  The course will be taught by Mr. Frank DiBartolomeo, award winning public speaker, engaging seminar leader, and professional public speaking coach.  His short course will be titled “Technical Presentation Skills for STEM Professionals.”  Although the full course will be offered in April, there will be a free one-hour short session offered virtually in March.  This will be an opportunity to meet the instructor and see what is covered in the full course.  If you would like to learn more about the free session, or the course, or register for either or both, you can do that here.

As always, a full listing of ATI Courses can be found at www.aticourses.com