Motivation:

As we discussed in class, people form "first impressions" of others based not only on what they say, but also how they say it. This impression can be made extremely quickly (in as little as a second), and using little or no objective information. The famous Michael Fox lecture, for example, was almost completely meaningless jargon, double-speak, and non-sequiturs.

Surprisingly, several large audiences of extremely intelligent medical professionals rated his talk as both exceptional and highly informative. This unwarranted positive impression was largely due to the way in which "Dr. Fox" had been trained to be a charismatic speaker - using expansive hand and body gestures, modulation of his voice, use of humor, timing statements to build suspense, etc.

These simple techniques can also be extremely powerful in other settings, such as when you are giving a presentation, leading a discussion, meeting with a client or supervisor, dealing with emergency situations, etc. They are particularly useful when it is necessary to quickly convince an audience that you have something important to say, and that you know what you are talking about.

Unfortunately, many engineers do not naturally develop these "power" professional behaviors, and so find it difficult or intimidating to convince others that their ideas and opinions are important. However, these techniques can be taught, and with practice, will become automatic and natural for most people.

Assignment:

Vanessa Van Edwards, a noted social psychologist, author, journalist and consultant to Fortune 500 companies, recently delivered an excellent keynote address at the Oregon BEST Fest (Portland, OR, September 9-10, 2015). The official video of her speech, in which she discusses some of her recent findings on the Science of Leadership, is available for viewing on YouTube.

Watch the video of Vanessa's keynote address, thinking critically about how you might use her suggestions to improve your public speaking, professional, and interpersonal skills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bQX1iVFo8E

As you watch, make a list of at least five behaviors or recommendations that you could use to improve the effectiveness of your own communication.

For each of these behaviors, write a few sentences that:

1. Describe how you might usefully incorporate the behavior or idea into your everyday actions.

2. Explain the basic physical or psychological principle(s) which make that behavior effective.