Bullets Are Deadly! (in Engineering Presentations)

Improving Technical Productivity

Bullets Are Deadly!
Deadly Dull, That Is

By Susan de la Vergne

Bullet lists on slides are nothing more than the presenter's speaker notes. That's it; that's all they are! The words, ideas, details, and facts that the presenter is standing there saying are up there, verbatim, on the screen. Maybe they're decorated with template art, branding, or splatters of color, but if you take all that away, it's still just a bullet list and it's still just a speaker cheat-sheet.

It's never a good idea to put under-developed snippets of ideas on slides, precede them with PowerPoint's decorative dots (bullets, that is) and then read them aloud. Never. Bullet lists do nothing to help your audience learn, remember, or understand. They aren't persuasive, and they shortchange complex information. Sometimes they even require teeny fonts so all the words fit. ("Sorry for the eye chart," the presenter says, knowing his audience has already decided not to even try to read it.)

As an argument in favor of bullet lists, I've heard this: "They give the audience something to take notes on!" Yes, and a blank sheet of paper, or a blank screen on an iPad or a laptop, serves that purpose just as well. Bullet lists are as effective as a blank piece of paper.

What should you do instead? Read more

(Follow Susan on Twitter: @SusandlV)

If You're Ready to Lead,
You're Ready to Lead:
Great Advice from Anthony Fasano

There's no magic age for transitioning to engineering leadership. In case you're working for a manager who seems to be sending you the message "It isn't your time yet," you don't need to take it to heart, according to Anthony Fasano, author of Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career (Premier Publishing, 2011).

The fact is if you think you're ready, you probably are, and the time to start to make a move is now. "The only way to become a leader is to become a leader," he says.

Through his organization Powerful Purpose Associates, based in Ridgewood, New Jersey, he assists engineers, helping them advance their careers, move into leadership roles and resolve sometimes difficult (but often common) workplace situations. A civil engineer himself who moved into a management role early on, he decided a few years ago to transition his career to help engineers develop their leadership abilities and put them to work on the job.

What's one thing Mr. Fasano wished he'd learned in engineering school? Read more

The Leader You Can Be

Create, step up, delegate, present, estimate, manage risk. In short, LEAD! That's what we do at Auxilium: we help engineers lead.

Auxilium's instructors and consultants are experienced engineering managers who bring their fresh ideas and proven, well-researched material to you--techniques, concepts and ideas you can put to use right now.

Take a class. Become the leader you can be.

We look forward to meeting you.

Sincerely,

Gary C. Hinkle

President and CEO

Auxilium, Inc.

503-293-3557