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 .