THE COMMUNICATIONS CONUNDRUM:

Transcription

1 2017 THE COMMUNICATIONS CONUNDRUM: Why Engineers Need Public Speaking Skills Presented by Matt Heldstab Systems Engineer at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities on Twitter

2 WHAT WE WILL COVER IN THIS SESSION Why the stereotypical IT Engineer should consider improving public speaking skills Focusing on other communication techniques (documentation, FAQ s, KB s) Talk about how public speaking doesn t have to be in a large group or to strangers Communication skills are required for a wider variety of positions than you may think

3 LET S MAKE THIS SESSION INTERACTIVE! Instead of learning about me, let s learn about each other Download the Poll Everywhere app to your mobile device Participate! Poll questions in this powerpoint will prompt your app to answer. Once you open the application, go to pollev.com/vcommunity

4 Matt Heldstab WHO AM I Grew up in Western Chicago Suburbs, Live in Western Wisconsin, Work in Minnesota (I know right?) ITS5 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System Office in Saint Paul (~ 5 blocks from here) 21 Years with the State of Minnesota Design Engineer / Architect for the Minnesota State Virtual Infrastructure (Servers and Desktops) VMware User Group Leader in Minneapolis and North Central Wisconsin 3x VMware vexpert, 3x VMware EUC on Twitter matt@tcwd.net Irrational Chicago Cubs Fan

5 SESSION ABSTRACT Call it a stereotype. Many view the IT engineer as an introverted sort. There are a bunch of reasons why the modern engineer should hone their public speaking skills. Whether it be to help attract your next employer, or to keep your current job, public speaking skills ensure the decision-makers at your job appreciate your relevance in the industry, and value to your organization.

6 ster e o type ˈsterēəˌtīp/ noun noun: stereotype; plural noun: stereotypes 1.1. a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. "the stereotype of the woman as the carer" a person or thing that conforms to a stereotypical image. "don't treat anyone as a stereotype

7 THE STEREOTYPICAL IT ENGINEER Roy from The IT Crowd

8 THE STEREOTYPICAL IT ENGINEER Moss from The IT Crowd

9 THE STEREOTYPICAL IT ENGINEER Nick Burns Your Computer Guy on SNL

10 THE STEREOTYPICAL IT ENGINEER Elliot Alderson from Mr. Robot on USA

11 THE MODERN IT ENGINEER /03/2017

12 OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNICATION Large Group Medium Group Small Group Written Communication HIGHER Pressure LOWER

13 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION Basic communication begins with thought organization Written / Oral communication relationship Easier to convey a thought orally if it is first committed to paper (major reason why speech writers exist). Written documentation and Technical Writing

14 IMPROVING WRITTEN COMMUNICATION Ways to improve written communication Think back to college / high school Assume someone is rating your grammar (because someone usually is) Ask for feedback from a colleague Leverage online spelling / grammar checking such as Grammarly.com or within MS Word. Don t aim too high Read a writing tips blog like Start your own blog!

15 THE NEXT STEP SPEAKING ONE-TO-ONE OR IN SMALL GROUPS Talk as you would write Your audience should not matter (familiarity) Make an attempt to put your audience at ease (even if it is only one person!) Pretend you are talking to an English professor Annunciate properly and avoid profanity This includes while you are talking with friends or colleagues informally It is important to understand that your speaking style may revert to informal tendencies when you are not making a mental effort to speak differently.

16 SPEAKING TO A MEDIUM SIZED GROUP Staff Meetings Strategies from the previous slide still apply Engage others and they will engage you Show interest and use good eye contact If you are not leading the meeting, use keen listening skills and speak when spoken to, or when your agenda item(s) are up. Some medium-sized work meetings are different than others (and some come with more stress than others!)

17 WHAT IS A CAB?? The Communications Conundrum

18 WHAT IS A CAB??

19 WHAT IS A CAB?? NO

20 WHAT IS A CAB??

21 WHAT IS A CAB?? NO

22 CHANGE ADVISORY BOARD Also known as CAB A change advisory board (CAB) delivers support to a change management team by approving requested changes and assisting in the assessment and prioritization of changes. This body is generally made up of IT and Business representatives that include: a change manager, user managers and groups, technical experts and, possible third parties and customers (if required). This is defined as part of the change control process within ITIL. Taken from

23 CHANGE ADVISORY BOARD Speaking at a change advisory board Presenting Make sure to stay on topic and again, know your audience. Approvers Challenging to understand all technologies. Important to listen and ask questions to add clarity for others.

24 CHANGE ADVISORY BOARD Being able to convey a message to a change board is extremely important. Could be financial repercussions if some ideas are not presented properly. EXAMPLES:

25 Complicated solutions to problems can be difficult to get approved if the strategy is unclear. Lack of clarity or organization can directly translate to risk in the eyes of non-technical supervisors. Typically the solution can be presented with an executive summary for upper management, and a technical summary to be presented to tech leads and/or technical management.

26 Complicated solutions to problems can be difficult to get approved if the strategy is unclear. Lack of clarity or organization can directly translate to risk in the eyes of non-technical supervisors. Typically the solution can be presented with an executive summary for upper management, and a technical summary to be presented to tech leads and/or technical management.

27 COMMON EXCUSES WHY NOT TO SPEAK I don t have anything I am working on that interests this crowd. My work won t let me present on anything due to disclosure rules. I ve got a big project coming up maybe I will present on it after it s over! I don t have enough time, I m too busy! I m too shy and my job doesn t require public speaking anyway.

28 COMMON EXCUSES WHY NOT TO SPEAK Reason #1: I don t have anything I am working on that interests this crowd. Even simple operational presentations are a big hit at technical events or meetups Vertical-specific solutions to problems are popular (this conference is a perfect example!)

29 COMMON EXCUSES WHY NOT TO SPEAK Reason #2: My work won t let me present on anything due to disclosure rules. Usually, these folks are from larger enterprises Understandable how security can be apprehensive Marketing can also be problematic as IT folks still carry the company name Massive value presenting on a concept or strategy instead of a prod env t Often, large enterprise test environments are a fantastic subject

30 COMMON EXCUSES WHY NOT TO SPEAK Reason #3: I ve got a big project coming up maybe I will present on it after it s over! Often, big projects are extended and often never quite end Great value in presenting on the early stages / decision points of a project Architectural decision points Infrastructure components

31 COMMON EXCUSES WHY NOT TO SPEAK Reason #4: I don t have enough time, I m too busy! All teams and projects have communication challenges Practicing your communication can only help you down the road May prevent instances where miscommunication results in wasted effort

32 COMMON EXCUSES WHY NOT TO SPEAK Reason #5: I m too shy and my job doesn t require public speaking anyway! As discussed before, CAB presentations always benefit from these skills Communication can even save your job (validating the need for a product you manage) Could be as simple as holding a technical discussion with a colleague

33 The Communications Conundrum OPPORTUNITIES TO HONE YOUR SPEAKING SKILLS Search for a topic and join a meetup. Great opportunities to watch others speak and offer your own expertise

34 The Communications Conundrum OPPORTUNITIES TO HONE YOUR SPEAKING SKILLS A large number of these meetup opportunities are Toastmasters meetings.

35 TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

36 TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

37 The Communications Conundrum TOASTMASTERS PUBLIC SPEAKING TIPS

38 OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEAK The VMware User Groups

39 QUESTIONS? The Communications Conundrum

40 THANK YOU VERY MUCH DON T FORGET TO FILL OUT YOUR SURVEYS!