Is it Different Working for FAANG?

Are you hopeful of getting a job with Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, or Google (FAANG)? Do you think you might be better off working with a startup instead? If you are wondering how it might be different working for FAANG, know that the answer lies in the little details. These include the required experience, the type of work you get to do, the compensation on offer, and then some.

The Pros of Working With FAANG

Getting a job with market leaders such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, or Google comes with a number of advantages.

• Compensation. The top reason engineers drift toward FAANG is the compensation they stand to receive. While Facebook is known to offer signing bonuses of up to $100,000, the average annual compensation at Netflix hovers around the $400,000 mark.
• Reputation. Networking and getting job interviews can become considerably simpler when you have FAANG listed on your resume.
• Highly valued. Many FAANG engineers have a lot of control on their projects, and are tasked with major responsibilities. These companies are known to value their engineers more than ones that do not revolve completely around technology. When working at FAANG, engineers have the latest technologies at their disposal. They also get to solve technical problems at scale. 
• Stability. Larger companies typically follow well-defined structures, be it for operations or growth. Employees tend to be well aware of their responsibilities. They don’t have to worry about volatility as they would in startups, which is ideal for people who are seeking professional stability. With a startup, a single bug can lead to failure or bankruptcy, whereas retooling is always an option at FAANG.
• Perks. Perks for FAANG employees can come in the form of parental leave, paid time off, transportation coverage, wellness benefits, and stipends for higher education.

The Possible Downsides

Not all in hunky-dory in the FAANG world, or their employees would never leave. Incidentally, a recent study carried out by Blind and AngelList shows that around 60% startup employees are happy with their jobs, which is 30% more than their FAANG and Microsoft counterparts.

Other than suffering from burnouts, which are very real, here are other possible drawbacks of working at any of these companies.

• Lesser creative engagement. Positions at FAANG are typically highly specialized, which gives average employees a prescriptive and limited scope of creative engagement. This is because the skills required for such projects might focus on maintaining functionality as opposed to creating something new. Over time, you might realize you have nothing new to do, and are functioning as no more than a cog in the wheel.
• Cultural mismatch. Dealing with the corporate culture that FAANG follow might seem challenging for some people. While each of these companies has its own distinct culture, what they share in common, with the exception of Apple, is that they’re not very old businesses. Ex-FAANG employees have often complained about bureaucracy problems, poor work-life balance, internal politics, and impersonal management. So, you might find yourself stuck in office politics that hamper your growth, despite years of good performance.
• Difficulty in standing out. The more the competition, the harder it becomes to stand out. This holds true not just during the application process, but also when you become an employee. To make a mark for yourself, you need to be able to deliver great results consistently with minimal attention required for your development.
• Cost of living. Several engineers and software developers wish to join FAANG and move to areas such as Silicon Valley, San Jose, and Seattle. While relatively high compensation packages might seem like a good reason to relocate, you also need to account for the higher cost of living. For example, rents in the greater Seattle area and Silicon Valley are among the highest in the country. You might also want to consider how much time you would end up spending in commuting to and from work.

Conclusion

Getting a job with Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, or Google might look great on your resume, and you may also get a good compensation package. However, will it give you the value you seek? To answer this, identify your priorities ahead of time and determine if joining FAANG will help you in achieving your goals.

How to Deal With a Biased Boss?

Do you think your boss showers one or more employees in your team with special treatment, while the efforts of others go in vain? If so, understand that the workplace is almost never a level playing field because bosses and employees are all too human. Work place favoritism has probably existed since the dawn of workplaces, and most people find themselves at one end of the spectrum or other at some point in time.

While dealing with a biased boss might seem daunting, you need put your foot down at some stage in order to move forward professionally. Fortunately, finding a solution might be simpler than you think.

Signs of a Biased Boss

You need to be sure if your boss is biased so you may take effective corrective actions. Here are signs that mark bias in a boss.

• A particular employee is constantly showered with praise for no apparent reason.
• Others in your team get better career development opportunities.
• You feel micromanaged all the time.
• You don’t get feedback.
• Your request for a raise is rejected without a valid reason.
• You’re not included in important meetings.
• You receive criticism even when you do a good job. 

Are You Really a Victim?

Are you sure that your boss is biased or might you have perceived a situation incorrectly? One way to determine if you’re thinking straight is to ask your colleagues if they feel the same way. Pay attention to conversations between your boss and those who you feel receive undue praise. Could it be that the people you who feel are being favored are actually more adept at handling tasks assigned to them? Remember that an incorrect assumption can lead to drastic consequences.

Act Normally

Pretend that you have no inclination about your boss playing favorites. You definitely don’t want your boss to see you in bad light, which is why you need to keep all adverse reactions at bay. While you might not be your boss’ favorite, you don’t want to end up at the bottom of the ladder either. Bear in mind that emotions can cloud your vision. Determine what the favored employee is doing right, because two can play the game.

Know Your Performance Metrics

Seek clarity about the performance metrics that apply on your team. Ask for your key responsibility areas (KRAs) so you can identify the basis of your evaluation. With a clear picture of your targets and expected standards, you know just what you need to do to get your boss’ attention. However, this also requires that you put your best foot forward consistently, and work on improving your skills.

Find a Mentor

If you feel that no matter what you do your boss is just not giving you your due, consider finding a mentor. A mentor can guide you in exploring other possible roles within your organization based on your skill set. In addition, you may also receive guidance surrounding what you need to do to improve your skills and how to get noticed by other leaders in your organization.

Document All That You See and Hear

Once you’re sure that your boss is biased, start documenting all that you might see or hear about him/her, because this is crucial when it comes to establishing a pattern of biased behavior. However, this step requires that you be honest and objective. You might make use of this documentation at a later stage, if higher ups or the HR department enters the picture.

Talk to Your Boss

You might consider bringing your reservations up with your boss directly. However, make sure you are subtle, as opposed to being accusatory. In some cases, highlighting clear data points instead of making generic statements helps bring to the surface some unconscious biases.

Explore Other Options

When all else fails, you might want to look for other opportunities, either within your organization, or elsewhere. Some organizations give employees the ability to make lateral moves to other managers or projects. At this stage, affecting a positive change is basically up to you.

What You Need to Do If You Face Discriminatory Bias

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states that it is illegal to discriminate against employees based on race, religion, color, sex, age (40 or older), national origin, disability, or genetic information. It is also illegal to retaliate against anyone who has complained about discrimination, filed an official complaint about discrimination, or taken part in an employment discrimination lawsuit or investigation.

If you find yourself in any such situation, consider filing a complaint with your organization’s HR department. You might also think about contacting a lawyer and/or the EEOC.

Conclusion

There is no reason for you to go out of your way to please your boss as long as you’re good at your work. What you need to bear in mind, though, is that your boss is simply trying to provide value to his/her boss. Favorites typically help managers look good in front of their bosses, so there’s no real bias there. If you can think of a way to make your boss’ life easier, you might find yourself becoming the next favorite. If things seem beyond your control and the bias is real, reporting it might be your best bet.

How to handle teammates that hog up time in Standup meetings?

Introduction

Have you ever been in a meeting where you or your teammates were not given the chance to speak-up or discuss your tasks and ask your questions because there was that one single team or member who spent more time than they are supposed to with the manager of the meeting, discussing aspects related to their own assignment without giving consideration to the time limit or other teams waiting in line?! There is a high chance that you have gone through or experienced this situation yourself at least once during your career or academic studies. In this article, we are going to provide some point that will help you to deal with that. 

Standup meetings

In today’s world, time is money. For example, every second that passes by in wall street, thousands or millions of transactions are made, companies and individuals can lose or gain a huge amount of money if they do not react quickly or in a timely manner. A company can lose a patent or an invention to its competitor, just because they were seconds late. This is a fast-moving world that does not wait for people who are slow.  After understanding the importance of time specifically in the business industry, let’s explain briefly what are standup meetings. Standup meetings are basically group meetings that are conducted between participants with one simple difference that you might have already guessed it, it is conducted while the participants are standing. The main aim of conducting the meeting with participants standing is to make the meeting duration short and quick, where just basically the main feedback or essential tasks are discussed and then everyone is back to their own work. This gives managers and teams the opportunity to be updated on projects’ progress, potential issues and prioritize tasks. This type of meetings is currently being used widely in companies and even in universities and schools. Standup meetings can last between 15 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the teams and project. 

Importance of Standup meetings

Among the unique features of standup meetings is that they do not need to be conducted in meeting rooms, equipped with chairs and projectors, instead they can be conducted in hallways, courtyards or in any other area that can just accommodate the participating number of people. Standup meetings give all members the chance to present and share their work and update briefings in a concise and effective manner. This creates some kind of leaning forward concentration in the meeting among the participants instead of the traditional laid-back approach of participants sitting on chairs and listening to prolonged hours to the presenting participant. The standing position of participants creates and boosts participants attention and information retention. This helps in speeding meetings up, which can be a huge waste of time if conducted in the traditional way. This improves productivity due to the minimal disturbance of the workforce. 

Problem Identification

Standup meetings are not meant to last long as they are intended to address main issues and updates in brief details and in a clear manner. However, some individuals or teams do miss the main point of standup meetings and go into details taking so much time and wasting their own and others time. This inconsiderate behavior creates a toxic waste environment that badly affects all teams and the organization as a whole. Standup meetings are not intended to discuss each and every step that was taken to solve an issue but rather to be concise and to the point with your presentation. Some team members might not get the chance to represent their work, concerns or issues, giving a bad impression to the manager or the team leader. 

How to handle a Standup meeting?

There are three main players in a meeting, the presenter (the person who is talking and presenting his work and issues he/she is facing), the manager (the person who is running the meeting and responsible for the combined work of all teams) and the coworkers or teammates (coworkers or teammates who are working in the same team as the presenter or working in other teams and on other tasks than the presenting team). There are many ways by which someone can handle such situation. The teams who did not get the chance to present their work at all or in an appropriate way because they were given no time, can talk to the manager separately about such problem. They can also call out the presenter in a polite way stating that they are not going to have time to present their issues and share their progress. You can also make a bold move of informing your teammates and manager that you have another meeting and you are going to leave. The meeting manager should set a time limit of 3 minutes to 5 minutes per team depending on the size of the team. An experienced manager should notice when time limit is exceeded and should stop or warn the presenting team. A good manager should give an equal chance to all teams and team members to present their selves. The third player, who is the presenting person who is exceeding the time limit should be considerate and respectable of his/her teammates. He/she should time himself/herself and tackle the main points and issues in his/her work. 

Conclusion

People like those who spend more time than their time limit and limit the chances of their teammates and coworkers to sufficiently present themselves, by trying to over spot the light on themselves and their work, will always exist, because people are of different personalities and characteristics. To amend such behavior, we should highlight the issue on the spot and advise the manager and teammates of the problem and how such behavior could lead to workplace toxicity. If we keep saying: yes, I am against it without taking action the moment it happened, it will always exist. However, if the community condemned it and took action right away, that would help limit the problem, resolve the issue and lessen the chances of it happening again. So, take action!

References: 

https://www.teamblind.com/post/Fed-up-with-blabberers-during-standup-u2Pouk6P
https://blog.bird-office.com/en/2017/08/23/advantages-stand-meeting/

If you think somebody in your team is always the “idiot” you are the jerk.

Do you think there is someone in your team who is a perpetual idiot? Are you of the opinion that you are way better than the person in question? If so, you might be the one who others in the team look upon as a jerk. Fortunately, identifying the problem (with you) and following a few simple remedial measures should hold you in good stead.

Why You Are the Jerk

Failing to appreciate others’ perspectives, having an air of superiority, treating supposed idiots as tools you can manipulate, or thinking of them as people you need to deal with instead of your peers, makes you, well, quite a jerk. This is because you fail not just at the emotional level but also intellectually. Consequently, it is you who is left wanting in these aspects. 

Signs of You Being a Jerk

The typical workplace jerk thinks of himself or herself as more important than his or her peers, and tries to exercise undue control on subordinates. Such employees tend to lend importance to the opinions and perspectives of those who are higher up the hierarchy ladder. If you feel someone is your team is always being an idiot, here are some other signs that you might want to watch out for and avoid:

• You are pushy and/or intrusive
• You are mean and/or disrespectful
• You refuse to look at his/her accomplishments
• You are not appreciative

If you find yourself whining or complaining about one or more employees, bear in mind that it never helps – and this applies in your personal life as well.

Signs That Your Peers Think You Are a jerk

If you keep looking down on anyone in your team, your coworkers probably already view you in bad light. Here are signs that might indicate it is happening.

• Your team members argue with you frequently
• They avoid you when possible
• The do not help you, and do not ask for your help
• You feel they are sarcastic and/or rude
• Their body language is negative
• They laugh at you, or snicker even when you are not trying to be funny
• Your success comes as a surprise to them

What You Need to Do

For starters, get rid of all the airs you have about yourself. Then, understand that the coworker you think of as an idiot might be inconsistently motivated or may simply not have the same priorities as you. In addition, some employees don’t go that extra mile in the absence of effective communication or recognition. Even if you are not in a position to bestow rewards, you can still highlight how the individual’s work is important to you, the team, and the organization. Just like you want your work to be acknowledged and appreciated, so do all others.

Conclusion

Viewing someone in your team as an idiot comes with no benefit. If anything, you might take on the role of being everyone’s fool yourself. If find yourself thinking you are better than someone at everything, it is time to take a step back and recalibrate your thoughts. Not only will the other person have positives you can look up to, identifying and working on your own flaws will help as well.

If you have any questions about this post, please ask by using the comments section. If you found the content to be helpful, please hit the like button and share it with others. To read more content related to careers in software, follow us now.

You are probably helping teammates without recognition

**Note: All the attached photos are royalty free and not copyrighted.

Introduction

There is not a single individual, who has not worked within a team at least once in his career or academic life. Teamwork exists in almost every industry, workplace and company. It exists in our everyday life, inside the academic and career framework and outside it. When you take out the garbage, that is teamwork. When you turn off the TV at your home, that is teamwork as well. When you switch off the lights at home or at work, that is teamwork. There are many other countless examples in our daily lives of teamwork that we take part in.

Importance of Teamwork

Teamwork promotes unity. When individuals work separately, each seeks to achieve his/her own goals, competing against other individuals or co-workers. Competition, despite being important, can lead to discouraged workforce if practiced between individuals within the same company or team as it results in conflicting interests. It also encourages hatred and envy among individuals instead of creating an atmosphere of friendship and loyalty, hence destroying any kind of unity or common interest. Teamwork promotes performance efficiency. It enables teams to divide the tasks based on skills and interests allowing individuals to perform their tasks efficiently and successfully and in return increasing the team’s overall productivity. Teamwork also helps individual team members develop their own skills, because they get exposed to other individuals with different backgrounds and skills. 

Working as a Team

There is no doubt that some team members do more work or perform better than others perform. In some cases, the least performing team member might not be given the chance to prove himself and unleash his/her full potential, being shadowed over by the better performing team members. In this case, the team member is not to be fully blamed for his/her lack of performance within the team. It is rather the responsibility of the team leader to ensure that all team members are actively engaged and are given an equal opportunity to perform just like the rest of the team members. In other cases, it might just be the laziness or lack of interest by the underperforming team member to work on the assigned task. 

In either case, the work of all team members should be recognized, whether the team member was underperforming or not, because in one way or another, the team member has definitely helped his/her teammates in a direct or indirect way. A good team leader should always acknowledge the effort that has been exerted by all team players, whether it was more or less than others. The recognition should not only come from the team leader, but also from the rest of the team members associated with the task. Therefore, it is necessary to have team qualities and skills to create and join a successful and appreciating team that recognizes its members without leaving anyone behind because they should progress as a single entity.

Personality Matters in Teams

This of course depends on the personality of the individual with whom you are working. If the team leader or spokesperson has the “I did” attitude instead of the “We did” attitude, then it is expected that some of the team members will not receive the recognition they deserve or any recognition at all for their work. A teamwork spirit and recognition are thus an essential quality of a team leader and supporting team members. 

Forms of Recognition

There are many ways by which a team leader or company can provide work and effort recognition. Among the most common forms of recognition are bonuses. These monetary rewards are given to individuals as an appreciation token for their effort and hard work. Recognition does not necessarily involve money. It can be in the form of a written praise letter to the individuals or team members, acknowledging the effort and contribution of the team members. It can also be a verbal admiration by the management or leadership. This increases the loyalty and friendship between the team members, resulting in better work output and more work dedication. These forms of recognition can be provided at specific special dates or at any day of the year with the aim of boosting morale and team spirit when needed. 

Importance of Recognition

Undoubtedly, recognition positively impacts teamwork and it is an essential quality of a good team leader. Individuals who help teammates, even with little stuff, and do not get recognized as a contributing factor within the team, can negatively impact the overall performance of the team. Providing recognition for all team members increases the team’s productivity. They will enjoy doing their tasks and will feel valued by their team. It also boosts optimism, team spirit and encourages engagement. Providing recognition helps in retaining employees because of their increased loyalty and happiness. It increases communication between team members creating a highly efficient and creative team. Not only does recognition affect current team members but it also creates a positive image of the team’s culture and working environment. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is true that many team members who help their teammates with aspects of their tasks, whether by answering some questions or tackling some of the, are not recognized by their teammates or team leader. This negatively impacts both the individual team member and the team as a whole. That is why, it is essential for an individual to choose his/her team wisely in order to avoid exerting effort and spending time that might not get recognized or acknowledged by others. The rule here to avoid exerting unrecognized effort or assistance to your teammates or job tasks is to choose your team and be chosen by that team. Choose a good team with supporting and encouraging individuals and have your effort and skills be recognized by that team, who will choose to have you join their team as a valued and recognized team member. That doesn’t mean to just perform well for the recognition, but to help teammates without questioning if they are going to provide recognition or not. 

References: 

https://www.moneypenny.com/us/resources/blog/12-ways-rewards-and-recognition-impact-teamwork/
https://bonus.ly/employee-recognition-guide/types-of-employee-recognition

Do I complain? How to handle a trash talking coworker?

Have you ever been in a meeting where you or your coworkers were getting trash talked by a toxic coworker and not even given the chance to discuss or resolve the issue in an open and fair discussion?! There is a high chance that you have gone through this situation yourself at least once and even if you didn’t, you might encounter such a situation in the future. This article will guide you on how to handle such a situation by standing for yourself or your coworker and refusing to get stepped on by the toxic trash talking coworker. Whether you are on the right side or on the wrong side, you have to step up for the trash talking as this is not the correct way to fix an issue. The manager or team leader has to step in and play his role in resolving the conflict in case of situation escalation. Disagreements and conflicts are inevitable. People are different and each person has his/her unique set of qualities, both good and bad. Problems occur! Such problems if not resolved early can negatively affect the work space and create an atmosphere of toxicity. 

Trash Talking problem

Trash talking is the act of making insulting remarks in attempt to demoralize and humiliate another person, whether a coworker or an opponent. The way a trash talker is handled is very critical and decisive. The first step is to clearly identify the problem or the cause that created the motive to trash talk. There has to always be a problem or issue behind the trash talking. The trash talker won’t simply come up to you and start trash talking for no reason. So, the ability to identify a probable cause is crucial, whether you think you are right or not. If identified early, the issue can be resolved easily before it escalates and gets worse. It is always advisable to look out for signs of accusations before they escalate and watch out for soft disagreements that are ought to be addressed right on the spot before they rest in and grow. 

Ways to handle trash talking coworkers

Now, if you failed to identify the problem and the conflict started to escalate and the trash talking commenced, then here are some tips on how to handle the situation. There are three main possible players for such a situation. You can be the coworker himself/herself, who is getting trash talked or you can be a coworker, who is just spectating the whole situation or you can be the manager or team leader of the conflicting coworkers. Let’s start with the first case, where you are the coworker who is getting trash talked by another coworker. Firstly, you need to try and understand the problem and the view point of the trash talker. You will need to state facts with evidence to help support you position such as emails and messages. Instead of merely arguing, just show proof that supports your point and defends your position. For example, if are accused of not completing your task on time, just mention something like: “As per our conversation on the 5th of February, you didn’t provide any feedback, so I hadn’t had the chance to wrap things up. I followed again on the 15th and there was no response from your side as well, as a result I wasn’t able to wrap things up on time.” It is essential that you understand the position of the accuser in team. If he has a better hold on the manager than you, and you get constantly cornered all the time even after the manager’s intervention, then it is highly possible that your manager is not doing enough and it is better to plan an exit from the team, as there is nothing much you can do. An escalation to the manager’s boss will help the company, but may not benefit you. Now, let’s move on to the second case, where you are a spectator. In this case, you need to make sure that you listen to both sides of the story and be sure that you understand the issue correctly. You are then required to intervene and come to a conclusion on who is right and who is wrong, if any. This will help resolve the issue using a third unbiased party and will make the conflicting parties keener on listening to your decision and solution. You should also inform the trash talker that trash talking is a bad way of conveying your frustration at a work place and that there are many other possible ways by which you can reach the coworker and let him know of your concerns and problems in a more friendly manner. Our final scenario is being the manager and coming in play to resolve the conflict. As a manager, handling team conflicts is your responsibility. You need to make sure that you listen to both sides of the story and be sure that you get the full picture. Then you are required to intervene and decide who is wrong and who is not in a professional and unbiased way that doesn’t undermine or hurt anyone’s feelings. To avoid situation escalation, it is recommended that you meet with the team members frequently and make sure that they are not facing any issues or problems. In case of the existence of issues and within team conflicts, it is recommended that you talk to each individual alone and tell him/her what ought to be done.

Conclusion

To conclude, trash talking back to a toxic coworker is not going to solve anything but rather escalate the situation, hinder work flow and have its detrimental impacts destroy the team or the company. Handling such situation should rather be with reason, proof, logic and according to work place laws and rules. In case the accusing trash talker is offensive and doesn’t take logic and proof for an answer and the same situation is repeated regularly, then you are faced with two main choices. You can either escalate the situation to the manager or team leader or you can request to leave the team or work place, if the manager didn’t help or was unfair to you. 

How to be a better presenter?

Are you among the many engineers and coders who have lots of data to present but don’t do a good job when it comes to presenting it in front of an audience? Are you wary about not brining enough substance to the table? If so, help might be closer at hand than you’ve imagined.

In this video, I’ll highlight aspects that can put your presentation woes to rest – and no – I’m not going to ask you to visualize your audience naked.

If you’re wondering what’s the worst that can happen in case you make a poor presentation, answers can range from a disappointed audience, to a less-than-favorable appraisal, to even having to look for a new job. Fortunately, how your presentation goes is largely in your control. 

Make it About Content, Not People

Understand that you’re giving a presentation because you’re meant to have the required knowledge to put forth any given idea or data. With the expertise to back you, view all those in your audience as the same, irrespective of their designations. Remember that you need focus on your content, and not the audience.

Objectivity Matters

Making a technical presentation is not the same as conventional public speaking – with objectivity playing a crucial role in the former. If you’re trying to talk through your hat while offering no real substance, there’s a good chance your audience will look through your act. Being a good public speaker is not enough if you don’t have the required technical knowhow.

Cater to Everyone

Having technical knowledge is one thing, and assuming that your audience is on the same page is something else all together. When you’re giving a technical presentation, you need to cater to the least knowledgeable people in the group as well, especially when part of your audience is from other verticals.

When possible, get information about your audience ahead of time, using which you can tweak your presentation’s level of detail and depth. If part of the audience is non-technical, highlight the what, why, and how, and don’t bother talking about coding.

What Else Can You Do

• Explain how your presentation supports a product’s USP.
• Use relevant graphics in the form of photos, diagrams, and charts – but keep them simple.
• Include a Q&A session at the end.
• Use cue cards if you can’t remember the flow of your content.
• Use a transcription app that runs in the background.
• Speak in complete sentences.
• Pause after important points so your audience can absorb your message.
• Carry out a test run with colleagues and get feedback.
• Make videos of your trial runs and view them from the perspective of your audience.
• Start a YouTube channel to get feedback from others.
• Join Toastmasters – most clubs are meeting online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Take professional public speaking classes.
• Practice, practice, and practice some more.

What You Shouldn’t Do

• Don’t include too much textual content in the presentation – you’re there to do the talking.
• Don’t keep reading off the screen – your audience can do this on its own.
• Don’t be too harsh on yourself if you mumble or pause from time to time.
• Don’t worry about making eye contact with people – if anything, it helps draw in your audience.

In some cases, people find giving presentations stressful because they suffer from performance anxiety. In any such scenario, seeking professional assistance would be the obvious way to go.

If you can manage to keep these pointers in mind, giving your next presentation should become considerably simpler, and you’ll also have the pleasure of leaving your audience satisfied.

If you have any questions about this video, please ask by using the comments section. If you’ve found it to be useful, please hit the like button and share it with others. To watch more great content related to careers in software, follow us now.

Giving Better Technical Presentations Simplified

Many engineers and coders who have lots of data to present find it hard to present it in front of an audience. Some are even wary about not brining enough substance to the table. Does this sound familiar?
Once you are done reading this post, you can put your presentation woes to rest – and no – no part of the process involves visualizing your audience naked.
If you are wondering what’s the worst that can happen in case you make a poor presentation, answers can range from a disappointed audience, to a less-than-favorable appraisal, to even having to look for a new job. Fortunately, how your presentation goes is largely in your control.

Make it About Content, Not People

Understand that you have been selected to give a presentation because you are meant to have the required knowledge to put forth any given idea or data. With the expertise to back you, you need to view all those in your audience as the same, irrespective of their designations. Remember that you need focus on your content, and not the audience.

Objectivity Matters

Making a technical presentation is not the same as conventional public speaking. Objectivity plays a crucial role in the former. If you are trying to talk through your hat while offering no real substance, there is a good chance your audience will look through your act. Being a good public speaker is not enough; you also need to have the required technical knowhow.

Cater to Everyone

While you need to have the required technical knowledge, you should not assume that your audience is on the same page. When you are giving a technical presentation, you need to cater to the least knowledgeable people in the group as well, especially when part of your audience is from other verticals.

When possible, get information about your audience ahead of time, using which you can tweak your presentation’s level of detail and depth. If part of the audience is non-technical, highlight the what, why, and how, and don’t bother talking about coding.

What Else Can You Do

Here are more pointers that can help you change the course of your technical presentations for the better.
Explain how your presentation supports a product’s USP.

• Use relevant graphics in the form of photos, diagrams, and charts – but keep them simple.
• Include a Q&A session at the end.
• Use cue cards if you cannot remember the flow of your content.
• Use a transcription app that runs in the background.
• Speak in complete sentences.
• Pause after important points, giving your audience time to absorb your message.
• Carry out a test run with colleagues and get feedback.
• Make videos of your trial runs and view them from the perspective of your audience.
• Start a YouTube channel to get feedback from others.
• Join Toastmasters – most clubs are meeting online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Take professional public speaking classes.
• Practice, practice, and practice some more.

What You Should Not Do

Don’t be too harsh on yourself if you mumble or pause from time to time. Even the best are not perfect. In addition:
Don’t include too much textual content in the presentation because you are there to do the talking.
Don’t keep reading off the screen because your audience can do this on its own.
Don’t worry about making eye contact with people – if anything, it helps draw in your audience.
In some cases, people find giving presentations stressful because they suffer from performance anxiety. In any such scenario, seeking professional assistance would be the obvious way to go.

If you can manage to keep these pointers in mind, giving your next presentation should become considerably simpler, and you’ll also have the pleasure of leaving your audience satisfied.
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