Online Program

Saturday, February 22
CS17 Communication Sat, Feb 22, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Bayshore V

Coming Out of the Casket: Techniques for Becoming a More Effective Speaker (302704)

*Eric Stephens, SESAC 

Keywords: Public Speaking, Presentation Skills, Effective Communication

It’s been said that, for many people, the fear of public speaking is greater than the fear of death, which prompted comedian Jerry Seinfeld to once quip, “In other words, at a funeral, the average person would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy!” However, effectiveness in your job as a statistician is not just about the proper application of statistical methods—you also must be able to speak to groups of people and present the results of your work in a manner that is clear, concise, and compelling. What’s more, if you aspire to advance to a leadership position, most organizations consider strong public speaking and presentation skills to be an absolute requirement. In this talk, you will learn techniques that will help you become a more effective speaker such as the effective use of body language, incorporating vocal variety, eliminating crutch words, and crafting your message to make it both persuasive and actionable. In addition, because this is a skill that requires practice to make significant improvement, we will discuss several resources you can take advantage of to help you make consistent progress as a speaker.