As many of you know, I primarily work with professionals to not only improve their presentation skills but also their ability to simplify the complex for their audiences. My mission to simplify complex messages aligns me with technical professionals in engineering, construction, technology, law, medicine, and other highly-educated professions. That is why this Washington Post article about a recent finding by Google really hit home.

In short, Google evaluated their hiring practices and was shocked to find that the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills were not the reason they hired or promoted someone. Out of the eight most important qualities Google measured, STEM skills actually came in last place. The top seven qualities were actually soft skills: being a good coach, communicating and listening well, possessing insights into others, having empathy toward and being supportive of one’s colleagues, being a good critical thinker and problem solver, and being able to make connections across complex ideas.

Don’t get me wrong, STEM skills are important and required to do many of today’s complex professions. However, technical professionals must have the ability to communicate their knowledge, especially when working with clients and prospective clients. Clients buy from people they like and they can not like what they don’t understand. Google’s research shows the need to communicate is vital for getting hired and promoted (and getting a client to choose your firm).

This article came out at the right time as I relaunched my public speaking course, SpeakU, in a new online, multimedia format that is built for the technical professional trying to learn how to communicate better. The new SpeakU includes numerous small, easy-to-digest courses starting at just $3.

Additional Resources

• Download 6 Amazing Ways to Overcome Presentation Fear, a free guide.
• Learn more about how my self-guided presentation training curriculum, SpeakU, can help you dramatically increase your effectiveness when speaking and close more deals.
• Follow Speak Simple on Facebook and YouTube for more ways to improve your presentations.

How Speak Simple Can Help You

Win more work, increasing your billing rate, and prospects coming to you are all results of being an excellent presenter. Erica Olson created Speak Simple to help technical professionals to become comfortable presenting and excel at each presentation, whether a bid presentation or an educational, content marketing presentation. Learn more about Speak Simple’s flagship program is SpeakU, a self-guided presentation training program.