I Don't Know What I Wanted to Do After High School

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Henry: I became an engineer because my father said I should, and I had no other ideas as to what I wanted to do after high school. He says he started a PhD program but dropped out after a year; at some point, you have to start living for yourself. Henry then got a job as a product development engineer that required him to give presentations in front of senior management on a monthly basis. When his first presentation was terrible, he joined Toastmasters so he could learn more about public speaking.

“The people who are the communicators are the ones visible within companies. Just being technically proficient is not enough. You have to be an advocate for yourself."

Neil Thompson is the founder of Teach the Geek and a public speaking coach. In this episode, Neil explained the importance of public speaking for technical professionals. Neil shared tips and advice on we can start and improve our public speaking skills. We also discussed some common challenges when speaking publicly and tips on how to overcome them. Towards the end, Neil shared more tips on storytelling, presenting data, doing virtual presentation, and presenting at large events.

Listen out for:

Career Journey - [00:06:43]
Importance of Public Speaking - [00:10:25]
Tips to Start Public Speaking - [00:11:52]
Challenge 1: Lack of Confidence - [00:14:44]
Challenge 2: Lack of Expertise - [00:16:27]
Challenge 3: Language Barrier - [00:17:59]
Challenge 4: Past Trauma - [00:19:36]
Filler Words - [00:20:52]
Maintaining Eye Contacts - [00:22:36]
Recording Video - [00:24:28]
Body Language - [00:25:33]
Getting Feedback - [00:26:44]
Storytelling - [00:27:52]
Presenting Data - [00:29:22]
Managing Presentation Time - [00:30:33]
Virtual Presentation - [00:31:48]
Conference and Big Events - [00:32:37]
Practising and Opportunities - [00:34:06]
3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:36:32]

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Neil Thompson’s Bio
After one too many failed presentations, Neil Thompson, an engineer, knew he had to improve. He did so, and now he works with technical professionals like himself to improve their communication skills. He hosts the Teach the Geek podcast, interviewing technical professionals about their public speaking journeys. He is also author of the book, Teach the Geek to Speak: a No-fluff Public Speaking Guide for STEM Professionals.

Follow Neil:

LinkedIn – https://linkedin.com/in/neilithompson
Podcast – podcast.teachthegeek.com
Youtube – youtube.teachthegeek.com
Website – teachthegeek.com

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