Advertise on podcast: Teach the Geek: Public Speaking and Communication Skills for Technical Professionals

Michael Sickles: Making Technical Presentations More Effective Michael Sickles, Manager of Solution Architecture, leads a team of presales Solution Architects and helps strengthen technical depth, customer engagement, and presentation skills across the sales cycle. We explore how his approach to communicating technical work has evolved as he moved into leadership. We also discuss what makes technical presentations effective, how to simplify complex information without losing its value, and what organizations can do to help technical teams become stronger communicators. To learn more about Michael, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/msickles/ __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Anant Gupta: How Technical Leaders Communicate Complexity Anant Gupta is a Chief Technology Officer with extensive experience leading engineering, data, and platform organizations while building high-performing teams and scalable technology systems. In this episode, we explore, among other things, where communication breaks down between technology teams and the rest of the organization, how to explain complex technical issues to nontechnical stakeholders, and why storytelling is an important leadership tool. To learn more about Anant, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/anantgupta1/ __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Orla Daly is a CIO and technology leader with a proven track record of partnering with the business to lead strategic technology initiatives, improve processes, establish governance models, and deliver lasting organizational value. In our conversation, we discuss where communication between IT and the business breaks down, how to explain complex technology decisions to nontechnical stakeholders, and why strong communication skills should be a core competency for every IT professional. To learn more about Orla, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/orla-daly-ma/ __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Bindya Dhanekula: Engineering Communication Drives Business Value Bindya Dhanekula, Senior Director of Engineering and Product Development, is an engineering leader with extensive experience leading medical device and biotechnology products from concept through commercialization while aligning engineering, product, and operations to deliver measurable business value. In our conversation, we discuss how engineering leaders bridge communication gaps across the organization, and why strong communication skills are essential for engineering and product development teams. To learn more about Bindya, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/bindyadumpala/ __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Dr. Andrew Omidvar: From Complexity to Impact Dr. Andrew Omidvar is a Vice President of R&D with more than 25 years of experience leading cross-functional teams, securing funding for breakthrough innovations, and bringing AI, big data, and medical technologies from concept to market. In our conversation, we will discuss how R&D leaders communicate complex research and development efforts to diverse audiences, and why strong communication skills are essential for turning technical breakthroughs into real-world impact. To learn more about Andrew, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-andrew-omidvar-a2a61a2b/ __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Jonathon Thompson is a technology leader with 25 years of experience designing and implementing compliant solutions in regulated industries. We explore where technical and business teams most often miscommunicate, how those misunderstandings influence leadership decisions, and how technical professionals can better communicate trade-offs and ideas to decision makers. We also discuss how AI is changing technical communication and why the ability to clearly describe problems, outcomes, and context may become an increasingly important technical skill. To learn more about Jonathon, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathon-thompson-1052906/. __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Marc Brooker: How Technical Communication Drives Decisions In this episode, I’m joined by Marc Brooker, a VP and distinguished engineer who has worked on large-scale systems and now focuses on safety and policy for agentic AI. We explore how his approach to communicating complex technical work has evolved as his responsibilities have changed. We also discuss what works and what doesn’t in technical presentations, how organizations can help technical professionals become better communicators, and why effective communication matters when technical work needs to influence decisions. To learn more about Marc, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-brooker-b431772b/ On another note, Kiro is expanding its free Students tier from 11 to 132 universities across 18 countries, giving eligible students a full year of access with 1,000 monthly credits. The program supports building across the IDE, CLI, Web, and open‑source Crew, aiming to make professional‑grade AI tools globally accessible.Head to kiro.dev/students to learn more and sign up. Share what you are building with #KiroStudents — @kirodotdev on X, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and @kiro.dev on Bluesky. __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Danielle Prilepskiy: Teaching Machine Learning through Tennis Danielle Prilepskiy is a Statistics and Machine Learning student who is exploring what happens when technical knowledge meets the human side of communication. After teaching tennis to kids and learning how to break down complex physical mechanics into simple analogies, she now applies those lessons to explaining machine learning to people who are trying to understand what it actually does in the era of AI. In this episode, Danielle shares how teaching tennis shaped her approach to communicating technical concepts, how she has developed her public speaking skills, and why technical people need more than technical expertise to be effective communicators. To get in touch with Danielle, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-prilepskiy-685757225/. __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Lisa Hornschemeier: When Engineers Fail to Communicate Lisa Hornschemeier is a Vice President of Engineering with a career spanning software development, enterprise systems, cloud platforms, and engineering leadership. In our conversation, we will discuss how engineering leaders bridge communication gaps across the organization, explain complex technical decisions to diverse stakeholders, use storytelling to build support for engineering initiatives, and why strong communication skills are essential for engineers who want to lead and drive business impact. To learn more about Lisa, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/oraclelisa/. __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Michael Jones: When Engineering and Business Miscommunicate Michael Jones sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, systems engineering, and stakeholder communication. He leads multidisciplinary teams developing LLM-powered tools, researches AI hallucinations, and regularly helps decision makers understand complex technical trade-offs. In our conversation, we discuss where engineering and business teams miscommunicate, how misconceptions about AI affect leadership decisions, and what technical professionals can do to have greater influence in strategic discussions. To learn more about Michael, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-jones-8aa77716/. __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Rob Kalwarowsky: When Technical Teams Meet Business Leaders Rob Kalwarowsky is a former engineer whose journey from high achievement and burnout to human-centered leadership has shaped the way he helps executives, entrepreneurs, and elite performers lead more effectively. We'll discuss where technical and business teams miscommunicate, how technical professionals can communicate trade-offs and influence decisions, and why strong communication skills are essential for both individual and organizational success. To learn more about Rob, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kalwarowsky/. __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Mark Castleberry: Technical Communication that Works In this episode, I’m joined by Mark Castleberry, a Director of Enterprise Applications with more than two decades of experience leading HR technology, ERP, and cloud transformation programs across both consulting and industry roles. In our conversation, we explore where communication breaks down between technical teams and business stakeholders, how those gaps impact outcomes, and what strong technical communicators do differently when they present, translate trade-offs, and build alignment across mixed audiences. To learn more about Mark, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdcastleberry/ __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Kelly Schroeder: Communicating IT Tradeoffs With Confidence Effective communication is critical for IT leaders who must bridge the gap between technical teams, executives, and stakeholders across the organization. In this episode, Kelly Schroeder shares lessons from leading large-scale technology transformations, guiding organizations through major change initiatives, and helping decision-makers understand the tradeoffs behind IT investments, cybersecurity, and digital transformation efforts. We also discuss storytelling, stakeholder buy-in, and why strong communication skills are essential for both IT leaders and the teams they lead. To learn more about Kelly, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyrschroeder/ __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Robert Monroe: Casting Engineering Stories in Steel Cast in Steel is the competition where minds meet metal, as student teams from across the country take on the challenge of recreating George Washington’s sword through design, casting, and rigorous testing. Each week, they are pushed through a grueling qualifying round where creativity, engineering skill, and durability are tested, all while competing for a $25,000 grand prize and the title of Cast in Steel champion. On the podcast I had Robert Monroe to talk about the origins of the series, how the storytelling approach came together, and what it revealed about how engineers communicate their work to the world. To learn more about Cast in Steel, visit https://www.youtube.com/@CastinSteel __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips

Jigar Thakkar is a technology leader who has helped drive large-scale cloud, data, AI, and investment platform initiatives. We discuss where technical and business teams most often miscommunicate, how those misunderstandings affect leadership decisions, and what technical professionals can do to communicate trade-offs, influence strategy, and earn a stronger voice in business discussions. To learn more about Jigar, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/jigart/. __ TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com) Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/tips