"I have superb technical skills. I put in at least 60 hours a week. My performance reviews are so good, they're suitable for framing. So why can't I get promoted to manager?"
That's a common lament I hear from engineers at large and mid-sized professional service firms. I tell them that if they want to make the transition to manager, they need to have very good communications skills, particularly in public speaking and presentations.
My name is Gene Ritchie. I'm a Certified Global Trainer for Dale Carnegie Training®. Years ago, when I started my career in advertising and public relations, I didn't have good communication skills. I lacked confidence and, as a result, avoided every assignment to speak or present. Even if I could speak, I had no idea how to put together a cohesive message.
Then one day I had to make a new business pitch to a group of human resource executives in Philadelphia. When I stood to speak, I noticed my mouth was very dry and my voice began to quiver. A kind member of the group passed me a glass of water, which I couldn't hold without spilling its contents. I was so nervous. Needless to say, we didn't get the business. The major reason, according to the potential client, was my lack of confidence and poor presentation skills.
I decided I needed help and registered for The Dale Carnegie Course®. Today, I teach that course and help others to overcome their fear of public speaking. How cool is that?
The Two Things Engineers Must Do
Recently, I spoke to a large group of engineers in New Jersey. During the question-and-answer period, I was asked, "What is the secret to public speaking?" My response was that there is no secret.
"You just have to do two things," I told the questioner, "First, just do it - you have to get up and speak as often as you can. There's just no getting around that. Second, you have to become less concerned about yourself (how I look, how I sound); you have to become more interested in your audience's needs for information, inspiration, or for whatever reason they are there."
I told these engineers that they are fortunate. They have many speaking opportunities: new designs, blueprint renditions, shopping mall additions, and the like. The sophisticated software they use and physical-scale models they produce put them head and shoulders over other professional service firms. Why? They present a future that can be seen (i.e., a scale model).
Lawyers, accountants, and consultants are retained - for the most part - on faith. Yes, they can show target numbers, but figures alone pale in comparison to what engineers can do.
The Three E's for Engineers
Where engineers fail, however, is in presenting exhibits in a dry, monotonous way. So I advise them to get excited about their work and to show that excitement, whether it's to the school board, the bank president, or whoever they're showing their work. Excitement is one of the "three Es" I learned from Dale Carnegie Training® that is so necessary to effective public speaking.
The first "E" is about "earning the right" to speak. Engineers' academic degrees and of years of experience in a particular field are usually enough to satisfy this E. Publishing articles and books, and talking on those topics also count.
The second is "excited," which I mentioned earlier. Most engineers can get excited about their work when they think in terms of their client's interests. You may be adding a store or a branch to a network that will produce more revenue, or a creating a new product design that will distinguish the client's products from competitors.
The third "E" is "eager to share." Just like man, no idea is an island. Engineers need to be eager to share their work to persuade others to fund it, mass-produce it, or at least consider it for the future. That means seeking opportunities to present their work, which many avoid.
What Lee Iacocca Knew About Engineers
An engineer who made the transition to management, Lee Iacocca, a graduate of Dale Carnegie Training, wrote in his 1984 autobiography, "I've known a lot of engineers with terrific ideas who had trouble explaining them to other people. It's always a shame when a guy with great talent can't tell the board or committee what's in his head."
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