PUBLIC SPEAKING
FOR STEM PROFESSIONALS
LEARN FROM THE TOP STEM LEADERS
AND ACHIEVE EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS
The vision of Teach the Geek is to help technical professionals, both current and aspiring, become the best versions of themselves.
So, here’s the thing.
Engineers are great.
Scientists are great.
Those in STEM? Great.
But are they great at presenting their expertise?
Well…they’re not known for it.
I should know. I’m an engineer myself.
Let me know if this applies to you:
- You sweat through your undergarments at the mere thought of giving a presentation.
- When you get up to speak, you end up reading your slides.
- You get questions after a presentation you thought you had answered during the presentation.
This can’t describe just me!
This is where Teach the Geek comes in.
I’m Neil Thompson. I am an engineer who saw the need to get better at presenting (especially technical presentations), since I was tired of looking like a sweaty mess every time I had to give a presentation in front of management. I took everything I learned in getting better at public speaking and turned it into a course, Teach the Geek to Speak. I now act as a coach for people like myself, technical profesionals who want to improve their presentation skills.
We provide group public speaking trainings and corporate trainings to engineers, scientists, and those who work in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields.
Teach The Geek To Speak
Public Speaking Course
Why focus on technical professionals?
Working for years as an engineer, I understand the importance of being effective as a presenter. Oftentimes, it’s not the best person who gets the promotion, gets the pay raise, and gets the attention. It’s the person who is adept at communicating with others, especially decision makers.
I was tired of being seen as just the engineer. I wanted to be known as the engineer who could take technical expertise and make it understandable for everyone else.
Not only that, but I wanted to be flexible. Those without communication skills tend to be pigeonholed.
Product development.
R&D.
Testing.
Roles that don’t require much communication.
I wanted the flexibility to have options. Don’t you want more options, too?
So, let’s talk about how Teach the Geek can help.
Public speaking training via the Teach the Geek Society
Consider joining the Teach the Geek Society to improve your public speaking skills. You get access to the online course, Teach the Geek to Speak, as well as an online community of like-minded STEM professionals who are committed to improving their public speaking skills.
By joining the Society, you get:
- Direct access to me, Neil Thompson, to deliver the training you need to improve your presentation skills (no more sweating through your undershirt)!
- A community of people just like you: those who want to connect and support each other in bettering their public speaking skills so they can get the promotions and pay raises they want.
- Q&A for you to ask Neil your burning public speaking-related questions.
- The opportunity to receive feedback from other group members.
- Access to Teach the Geek to Speak, an online public speaking course designed with STEM professionals in mind. Get a no-fluff take on what you need to do pre, during, and post presentation to get maximal results.
- Bonus material to help you on your public speaking journey, including exercises, worksheets, and suggested equipment for virtual public speaking presentations.
E LEARNING
BENEFITS
to achieve the success you deserve!
Identify your strengths and map out your goals
Move past your blind spots
Don't waste money and time
Finally land the position you're destined to achieve
Corporate trainings
Bring Teach the Geek to your company! Through corporate webinars, workshops and seminars, we can help your technical professionals improve their presentations skills to become the speakers they need to be, whether that’s in team meetings, at conferences, or presenting in front of customers.
Corporate trainings may include:
- Access to the Teach the Geek to Speak course.
- Trainings geared specifically to your company to work on the presentations that STEM workers have to give, especially in the virtual environment.
- Copies of the Teach the Geek to Speak book and workbook.
The engineers and scientists won’t give ineffective technical or non-technical presentations anymore, and those in the audience won’t have to sit through those presentations. They will have the confidence and knowhow to present so that people listen, and decision makers will get the information they need to make more informed decisions.
Whether public speaking trainings are onsite or virtual, they are a great way to get your technical professionals to present in a way that matters. And why not learn from a fellow technical professional who became a technical professional speaker?
When I first started my public speaking journey, I thought that I had to sound like others out there for people to listen to me. This isn’t the case. What ends up happening is that you sound like a carbon copy of someone else – and carbon copies are never as good as the original.
With this training, learn how to sound like the best version of yourself – the version that is able to talk convincingly with others so that they understand.
So if your company is interested in its technical professionals learning how to:
- Structure presentations so that they are easy to follow.
- Confidently deliver a presentation in an easy to understand way, even if there is plenty of technical information to convey.
- Create and maintain audience engagement.
Then corporate training is for your company!
Public speaking for engineers and scientists is crucial, especially now. Innovation arises from the work of the STEM workforce. If they are not proficient in conveying their expertise to others, innovation is stymied. As an engineer, for so long, I thought that it was others’ job to convey my ideas, and I could just work on the ideas. How wrongheaded I was. STEM workers must take back that power. Public speaking training for STEM and tech professionals can make that happen.
Why Choose Teach the Geek?
Maybe I can explain why with a story.
I was working as a product development engineer at a medical device company. When I took the job, I thought that was I was just going to be doing product development. Design. Test. Repeat.
A month after taking the job, I was informed that I would be a project lead and would have to give monthly project status updates in front of management. I was petrified. I hadn’t presented anything since I was in school!
That first presentation was…terrible. I didn’t know it was possible to sweat through your fingernails! I tried to get out of there as soon as possible, only to realize that I’d be right back there the following month.
Things came to a head when my project was cancelled. Who knows what could have happened if I had been better at presenting sooner? I took that failed project as my cue to improve my public speaking skills. I took everything I learned in getting better and created Teach the Geek to Speak, an online public speaking course for technical professionals created by a technical professional.
If you’ve been in my shoes, you don’t want to ever go back to them. Be the engineer who audiences listen to. Be the scientist who gets the promotion because you’re able to communicate effectively with decision makers.
Be the best STEM professional you can be.
Who is this For?
Teach the Geek was created specifically with STEM professionals in mind. What sets it apart is that it was developed by a fellow STEM professional. I know the struggle of having technical expertise and wanting to convey it better. I know the feeling of being passed over for promotions and not getting the plum assignments. I’ve also witnessed the miscommunication between STEM workers and decisions makers; if only the former had communicated better…
Public speaking for STEM Professionals – why is that important?
It’s obvious for sales professionals to be adept at public speaking. They have to talk to customers. It’s obvious for CEOs to be adept at public speaking. They have to talk to shareholders. Engineers? Scientists? Those in tech? Not so obvious.
As a technical professional, no one is going to explain your work better than you can. It’s in your best interest to become more effective at communicating so that others do not misinterpret your work. With Teach the Geek, either via corporate trainings or the Teach the Geek Society, you can develop the skills to keep audiences’ attention while meaningfully conveying your expertise.