presents

Skills for Success

Tech Expo
April 15, 2015
Atlanta, GA
 Nonverbal communication & body language
 Who, what, why and how
 Communicating value
 Choosing the proper medium
 Varying styles based on media and audience
◦ Reports, summaries, papers, articles, presentations, web
pages, blogs
 Professional presentation style
 Marketing communications
 General tips for all technical communications
 Summary
 Percentage of communication that is
conveyed through words vs. body: 7% - 93%

Written words lack vocal inflection and body language, and

therefore must be more carefully crafted

Source: “Silent Messages,” Dr. Albert Mehrabian

 What do some gestures, postures or positions
indicate?

Image source:http://teachtolearn2202.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/body-
language-menu-map.jpg
 Company
President

R&D Operations Sales Marketing

Manager Manager Manager Manager

Professional Professional Professional Professional

 Tell our coworkers about our challenges,
solutions and achievements
 Gain buy-in and support for our projects
 Draw attention to our technology and our
value proposition
 Disseminate new information that may help
others in our industry and encourage growth
and partnership with your company
 Demonstrate leadership (marketing)
 Abstract concept
◦ “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”
 Value proposition
◦ “What is it worth to…”
◦ Daily decisions
 Monetizing technical value
can be challenging
◦ Communicating and recognizing
value is easier
 Value to customer
◦ Save time
◦ Save money
◦ Reduce inventory
◦ Eases use
 Value to organization
◦
◦
Generate revenue
Reduce cost
f (x)
◦ Expand product portfolio
◦ Increase knowledgebase
 Value to industry X=0
◦ Share knowledge
◦ New methods
◦ Organizational recognition
 Photocopying-”Xeroxing”
 Velcro
 Lightbulb
 Alternating current
 Microchip
 “White out” correction fluid

Consider the value of these inventions! Were their

values not clearly communicated on the first pass?
 Test reports
 Technical papers
 Application notes
 Brochures
 Magazine articles
 Blogs
 Web pages
 Presentations & Webinars

Adapt the style to the media and the audience

 Who do you want to reach?

 Test reports
◦ Coworkers and strategic partners, perhaps customers
 Tech papers at conferences
◦ Higher level technologists, researchers & managers;
narrow exposure but high interest; high credibility
 Magazines
◦ Techs, engineers, managers; broader exposure but lower
overall interest
 Apps notes and blogs
◦ Techs & engineers; limited exposure, highly interested
users
 Presentations and webinars
◦ Broad audience; broad exposure with mixed interest
Used internally, or with select development partners

 Formal record of experiment or test

◦ Document everything - Equipment makes and models, process
or test parameters, test vehicles, test participants, materials and
lot numbers
◦ Photograph everything - test equipment, test vehicles, each
step of process, raw materials, results
◦ Raw Data – as much as possible
 Organizing may be easier in Powerpoint than Word
 Reports in Powerpoint format should be acceptable
◦ Pictures and numbers tell stories better than words do
 Details, details, details!

Audience: Technologists who want details

If you want your message delivered as intended, write
the summary yourself
 Results ONLY
◦ Limited, high-level view
◦ Interpretation of results on
technology, business or
strategic plan
◦ Path forward
 In beginning of report
 Copy into body of email when
attaching report

Audience: Managers who want the 60-second upshot

For technical conferences, journals, symposia
 Formal, public record of
development work
 Focus on experimental methods
and findings
 Present data, include as much
as possible, even in appendices
 Discuss and interpret results
 Use formal language – no slang,
abbreviations or personal
pronouns
 No attempts at humor, no
sarcasm

Audience: Technologists who want to see the data

High ROI for suppliers
 Focus on results
 Select publication based on
subscriber demographics and
technicial reputation
 Embed key words for SEO
 Compelling intro: max 3 three
sentences that include problem
and implications
 Show data with good graphics
 Reference original study & add
link
 Proliferate with social and
electronic media
Audience: Results-oriented technologists
The most frequently propagated form of information
 Make points clear; leave little
open to interpretation
 Use takeaway boxes to
summarize complex slides or
stress key concepts
 Don’t apologize for “eye charts”
– just don’t make them!
 Graphics should be relevant
and communicate, not decorate
◦ If not your own, always cite the
source of the image
 “Scale” the presentation to the audience and the presenter

Audience varies with presentation venue or event

Your are the ambassador of your organization

 Respect time constraints

 Average 1 minute/slide
 Respect audience
 Go easy on animations
 Do NOT read slides to
audience
 Face audience
 Eye contact triangle
 Don’t forget to breathe

Represent your organization professionally

Efficient and effective ways to communicate
 Eliminates travel time and cost
for presenter and participants
 Check internet connections
prior to webinar
 Use a headset for best audio
◦ Speaker phone provides worst
audio
 If using video link, check
room lighting and camera
angles prior to meeting
 Record for on-demand viewing

Audience has varying degrees of familiarity; start slow

 Can use more casual
language
 Humor is often rewarded
 Can offer opinions in
addition to facts and data
 Need to stay fresh
 Be cautious about
polarizing statements
 Remember your next boss
may be reading it

Audience: the whole world; your next customer or boss

 “Lite” version of ppt for field force
Sales tools Cite results in sales lit
Reprints for sharing

Cite paper in blogs

Blogs, webinars Repeat presentation as a
webinar, on-demand

Reduction from paper

Magazine Articles Instead of paper
Strong graphics to tell story

Formalized and non-commercial,

Conference Paper/Presentation focused on tests and findings
Can be updated for several conferences

BIG EXPENSE, sunk cost

New Product Research Study Investigators will document project,
test methods and results in report form
For industry suppliers
 Typically include:
◦ Brochures
◦ Data sheets
◦ Web pages
◦ Advertisements
◦ Press releases
◦ Sales & support training
◦ User’s guides/applications notes
 Should also include:
◦ Tech papers, articles, conference presentations
◦ Participation in online communities
◦ Budget – time & money for technical community
participation
 Strike a balance between technical and commercial
◦ ALWAYS talk technical first and commercial second in
papers and articles
◦ If in doubt, err on the side of technical
◦ Let the data speak for itself
◦ Respect non-commercialism policies: use logos and
trade names only once
 Link features and benefits together
◦ Features mean nothing without benefits
 New formula, LED lighting, improved user interface
◦ Benefits are pointless without reasons (features)
 Higher yields, saves money, better throughput

Know your audience and their needs

 Technical audiences are VERY sensitive to
commercial content
 Use trade names ONCE and only once
◦ Label products or processes A, B, C
 Use logos only on first and last slide and
never in technical papers or articles
◦ If company name is permitted in footer, it can be used, but
can be distracting if it’s on every slide
◦ Use copyright & company name only on slides that may be
tempting to copy
 Use unifying themes to identify your
organization

(c)Company Name Permitted

 Same color palette on all
charts, graphs, slides
◦ Corporate identity
◦ Takes 5 minutes in Office
 Same style – font type,
chart backgrounds, etc
 Makes an organizations’
work recognizable when
using generic templates
 “Interchangeable parts”
for presentations and
articles
 Raise market awareness
 Demonstrate industry leadership
 Demonstrate value and garner buy-in
 Create avenues for connecting with
customers and potential customers
 Speed ROI on new product development
 Strengthen the brand
 Strategically plan technical communications
 Answer 3 questions before beginning
◦ Who is the target audience?
◦ Where do they seek information?
◦ Are they interested in methods, data or results?
 Publish info in multiple media & regions
 Use the simplest language possible
 Remain non-commercial
 Unify themes

Use takeaway boxes

Apply to all forms of technical
communications
 Technical workforces are very diverse
 Organizations are global
 Technology is universal

What percentage of your colleagues, customers or

suppliers read and speak more than one language?

How do you ensure your message is understood?

 Avoid plurals whenever possible
◦ If you do use plurals, don’t use apostrophe’s!
 Avoid articles – a, an, the
 Use only one verb tense – present
 Use only one verb voice – active
 Pronouns – use he, she or it, but not their
 Big words – substitute small ones
 Sentences – short

Simplicity applies to ALL language in ALL documents

 Average person reads 200-300 words per
minute. Consider their time investment.
 Get rid of useless modifiers – quite, very,
rather…
 Eliminate superfluous phrases – in other words,
that is to say that, of course, generally
speaking, to that extent…
 Target prepositional phrases for condensing
 Bulletize lists

Write as if you are reading, speaking

 Put the main message 1st
◦ Problem solved
◦ Project milestone
◦ Change of direction
◦ If this were a news item, what
would be its headline?
 Background information 2nd
◦ Long problem description
◦ Timing
◦ History
◦ Complications Think of a headline
(but not one this comical!)
 Don’t “bury your lead”
 Annotated pictures are easier to understand
than written descriptions
 Pictures translate better than words
 Visual images capture attention
◦ Don’t forget to cite the source if not original

Squeegee
Blade

Curtaining Solder Paste

 5 nm
max

More Detail Less Detail

For best results…Avoid these pitfalls!

 Bullets don’t get periods

 Watch capitalization – must be consistent
 Don’t use big words when little ones do the trick
 Word choices
◦ Whose/ who’s
◦ Its/it’s
◦ Effect/Affect
◦ Contaminant/Contaminate
 Not asking for proof reading and/or ignoring the
red or green squiggly lines in your document
 Demonstrate your pride in your product and
organization
 Don’t write or say anything you would not
want your boss to see or hear
◦ Imagine everyone is - or may become - your boss
 Understand your audience
 Make sure your message is clear
 Model your style after your favorite sources

Share your unique knowledge with your associates

 Know your audience
◦ Type of information and level of detail they want
 Focus on the main message
◦ Key information first; background information second
 Simple language is better than complicated
◦ Bullet lists are great!
 Use graphics as much as possible
◦ Simplify graphics and use bold colors to capture attention
 Unify themes and maintain non-commercialism in
technical documents
◦ Gain audience recognition and respect
 Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose to maximize the value
of publications
◦ Easy to do with unified themes
 Speaking - consider the impact of body
language
 Writing - copy a style you like to read, not
how you like to speak
 Presenting - consider yourself a
professional ambassador of your
organization
 Publishing - choose media strategically and
demonstrate the value of your product or
research
 Questions?

chrys@sheaengineering.com
(609) 239-2995
Chrys Shea is the President of Shea
Engineering Services, a consulting firm that
produces technical studies and communications
tools for the electronics manufacturing industry.

Chrys holds a B. S. in Mechanical Engineering and

an M. S. in Manufacturing Engineering. After 20 years
working in various process engineering and management roles for Compaq
Computer, Texas Instruments, Siemens, Motorola and Cookson Electronics, she
launched Shea Engineering Services in 2008.

Chrys has been honored as a Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA)

Member of Technical Distinction and an SMTA Distinguished Speaker, and is a
two-time winner of the SMTA International “Best of Conference” award.