No, the above title doesn't refer to Ronald Reagan. It doesn't refer to a new and vastly more powerful Internet protocol either. Instead, it refers to your potential as a communicator of ideas, concepts, designs, and implementations. Like most broad generalizations, it isn't entirely accurate, but many engineers truly lack the ability to give presentations and sell their ideas to groups.
Why would you as an engineer need these skills? Perhaps you chose this career partly because you felt less comfortable interacting with people than with electronics. Maybe you're comfortable around people, but prefer listening to others over offering your own views. Well, here are some reasons why you should consider honing your group communications skills:
- You have to sell your ideas to your colleagues and management. Well-known innovation consultant Michael Schrage notes that companies don't suffer from a lack of innovation, but rather from too much of it (Fortune magazine, Nov. 13, 2000). Those who can sell their technical ideas will get to work on projects of their own making.
- Many otherwise great projects fail because members of the development team can't communicate its goals and progress to others. If management isn't convinced of the project's value, it will probably lose funding. Furthermore, if you can't communicate the reasons behind missed deadlines, you may be considered a poor engineer.
- You probably won't stay in engineering forever. While some spend 40 years or more in engineering roles, you'll more likely move on to other types of jobs as your interests and skills change. Whether you find a career in management, training, services, or sales, interaction with people, individually and in groups, will greatly increase.
- At some point, you probably will have to speak to a group. Doing so will be important for your immediate project as well as your career. It might entail presenting a project plan to management, a conference presentation, a training session, or another role. Almost certainly it will happen, and you should be prepared before then.
Fortunately, it's not difficult to become an acceptable or even a very good public speaker. If you're already a proven public speaker, good for you. I was lucky enough to have received an assignment for the Air Force's Academic Instructor School during my military service, where I spent five weeks working on presentation skills. But you can easily teach yourself the skills that I learned in a more formal setting.
Much of public speaking is sales. If the thought of that makes you uncomfortable, get over it. Every day we sell ourselves in many different ways, through our words and our actions. You do it already. It's part of what makes you successful as an engineer. Public speaking is an extension of that sales process. You try to inform your audience and convince its members that your information has value. You must provide them with a good reason for listening to you, because there's so much else that they could do otherwise.
Few presentations today require the level of formality often used a generation ago. In the past, speaking in front of a group meant using a podium and delivering a prepared text in a dry monologue. Frequently, no visual aids accompanied the speaker, or they only consisted of lines of text or simple charts.
Today, you usually have much more freedom regarding how you deliver your presentation. Your goal is to engage your audience, establish credibility, and convince it of your point of view. Reading a prepared text from behind a podium isn't the most effective method.
Instead, get out among your audience. If it's small (I can typically talk to up to 40 people without amplifying my voice), walk among it. On the other hand, if you have a large audience, move around in the front of the room to keep its attention focused on you. Gesture at the key points of your presentation slides, and vary the tone in your voice. When you're excited about a topic, make sure that the audience can tell.
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