The following is a summary of Episode 83 of our podcast, The Engineering Career Coach (TECC) Podcast. I will summarize the main points in this post; however, you can also listen to the show through the player below, the website, or by subscribing on iTunes.
Rashid N. Kapadia, PMP, is a speaker, project manager, engineer, consultant, and author. Born & raised in India, he started his career in the merchant navy, where for over 17 years he progressed from marine engineering apprentice to chief engineer.
Here are some of the key points Rashid discussed in this episode including:
- Steps to take to improve your public speaking.
- Learn the analogy of public speaking with lubricating oil.
- What is flow? It is a state of mind and body when you perform at your best and feel your very best. Do the very best you can and feel very good as a result of that.
- Try to transition to a state of flow and acquire mastery.
- Surround yourself with flow triggers, anything which captures your attention.
- Part of the good flow is having a good rest, plan your sleep routine.
- Put yourself in an atmosphere or go into the zone that will make it easier for you to get into the flow.
- Practice pre-speech relaxation techniques and focus entirely on your audience.
What can engineers do to improve public speaking?
First, you must have the commitment and belief that public speaking will help you in your career.
Second, you must create a project charter which is a formal document recognizing the existence of a project. Sample of project charter can be found here.
What other techniques have you used to help you improve your public speaking skills?
Anthony Fasano, PE, author of Engineer Your Own Success, found success as an engineer at a very early age and now writes and podcasts to help other engineers do the same. Visit Anthony’s website at EngineeringCareerCoach.com to access all of the free engineering career resources he has created to help engineers succeed.