Improving networking and social skills as an engineering student

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>This topic has been touched on in several different places, but I haven't seen any recent major threads dealing directly with it. So, what are some of your suggestions for improving networking and social skills? Also, does anyone have any comments about the importance or unimportance of improving these skills, or maybe stories about individual experiences?</p>

<p>Right now, I am about to be a sophomore in Chemical Engineering, and I have done 3 years of policy debate as a high schooler and one semester of mock trial as a freshman, both of which have helped quite a bit. Some other suggestions that I have seen on these boards for improving these skills include joining and organization like Toastmasters (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toastmasters%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toastmasters&lt;/a&gt;), becoming a tour guide, etc. This isn't a topic that I hear a lot of my engineering friends talk about, so I am looking forward to your comments and stories!</p>

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<p>Debate's good. I'm a huge fan of getting myself involved in the leadership of massive extracurricular projects. Being in charge of various facets of Beer Bike at Rice (huge huge huge all-campus tradition) and leading the band both forced me to play the role of mediator oftentimes and to facilitate interaction between various groups of people. Lots of conflict resolution. Lots of public speaking. Lots of organizational and managerial skills. All of that experience has helped tons.</p>

<p>Another thing that REALLY helped me was tutoring. Explaining technical concepts to someone who doesn't understand them is a crucial skill, especially if you're in an engineering field where you've got a lot of engineer/client interaction. Tutoring forced me to figure out what teaching methods worked and what didn't... A tutoring student isn't going to be afraid to look at you blankly, and some will even explicitly say, "I have no clue what you're talking about."</p>

<p>Consequently, I give really good presentations, and clients have started to latch on to me and use me as their translator during projects, because they a) understand me, and b) know that I know what I'm talking about.</p>

<p>If you want to make money while learning to do public speaking and presenting, and you've got some time to kill, I definitely recommend looking into teaching at a place like Princeton Review or Kaplan. Teaching high school kids is much more demanding than giving a presentation to clients, so it's like going through the worst-case scenario in the business world <em>every single day</em>. ;) Seriously, though, teaching's incredible for honing your social skills.</p>

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<p>bump...good thread</p>

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<p>I must agree with aibarr there. Teaching/tutoring does a lot to improve one's communication skills. Plus, you can usually get paid for it as well.</p>

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<p>this is a gangster thread, engineers will catch on. imagine an engineering major with the whole package? all the marketing majors will be out of work.</p>

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<p>Yep.......</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Another thing that REALLY helped me was tutoring. Explaining technical concepts to someone who doesn't understand them is a crucial skill, especially if you're in an engineering field where you've got a lot of engineer/client interaction. Tutoring forced me to figure out what teaching methods worked and what didn't... A tutoring student isn't going to be afraid to look at you blankly, and some will even explicitly say, "I have no clue what you're talking about."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That's not a bad idea. </p>

<p>Along the same vein, I would throw in getting some experience as a TA for a class, including (especially) giving public lectures, including perhaps even teaching a class or two. Being forced to speak in front of a group of strangers will do wonders for your presentation self-confidence. Many people say that public speaking is one of the most frightening tasks they ever have to do, and you need to conquer that fear.</p>

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<p>Throwing out a suggestion that sakky made in another post, that I was hoping he'd mention here, because it's a really good suggestion that I hadn't thought of before... Being a campus tour guide is a good way to learn how to speak confidently in front of strangers.</p>

<p>It's also a great way to learn to walk backwards.</p>

<p>EDIT: oh lord... harvardman1988? I was like, "What happened in 1988 that he'd be writing about? He'd have been really young in 1988..." and then I did some quick math and wanted to cry a little.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Throwing out a suggestion that sakky made in another post, that I was hoping he'd mention here, because it's a really good suggestion that I hadn't thought of before... Being a campus tour guide is a good way to learn how to speak confidently in front of strangers.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, it was already mentioned by the OP, so I didn't feel the need to repeat it.</p>

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<p><em>scrolls up</em>....
<em>scrolls down</em>...</p>

<p>Oh. Well, lookit that. Crud.</p>

<p>Well, at least now, props are being given where props are due...!</p>

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<p>Do people that tutor usually do it through the school or just go on their own and find people that need help? I'm often asked to tutor in math but am rarely very helpful because of my poor communication skills. I guess that means I need to do more of it...</p>

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<p>I signed up for a tutoring list my sophomore year of high school. I had had practice tutoring my friends (especially in math) before doing so though.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Another thing that REALLY helped me was tutoring. Explaining technical concepts to someone who doesn't understand them is a crucial skill, especially if you're in an engineering field where you've got a lot of engineer/client interaction. Tutoring forced me to figure out what teaching methods worked and what didn't... A tutoring student isn't going to be afraid to look at you blankly, and some will even explicitly say, "I have no clue what you're talking about."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, I am glad to hear this because I will be doing something similar next semester. I will be basically leading a 7-8 person General Physics study group for 2 hours each week through the school. I hope to add regular tutoring onto that in the spring, so I'm glad to see that tutoring helped you so much!</p>

<p>
[quote]
If you want to make money while learning to do public speaking and presenting, and you've got some time to kill, I definitely recommend looking into teaching at a place like Princeton Review or Kaplan. Teaching high school kids is much more demanding than giving a presentation to clients, so it's like going through the worst-case scenario in the business world <em>every single day</em>. Seriously, though, teaching's incredible for honing your social skills.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is something that I've never heard of. I will look more into it, but do they just hire regular undergraduates to teach these courses? </p>

<p>
[quote]
Do people that tutor usually do it through the school or just go on their own and find people that need help? I'm often asked to tutor in math but am rarely very helpful because of my poor communication skills. I guess that means I need to do more of it...

[/quote]
</p>

<p>At my university, at least, they have tutoring that you can do through the school (and the school pays you) as well as private tutoring. I think that most schools do something like this. </p>

<p>
[quote]
<em>scrolls up</em>....
<em>scrolls down</em>...</p>

<p>Oh. Well, lookit that. Crud.</p>

<p>Well, at least now, props are being given where props are due...!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Haha, well, it seems like a great thing to do and could also be a lot of fun, so maybe it bears repeating. ;)</p>

<p>
[quote]
imagine an engineering major with the whole package? all the marketing majors will be out of work.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, I will be doing my best to be that type of engineer. ;)</p>

<p>Thanks everyone, I would still love to hear other suggestions and/or personal stories!</p>