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

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 outcome...

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 in...

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 priz...

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://ww...

Nick Schmidt: Technical Communication that Drives Decisions

Nick Schmidt is a global entrepreneur, veteran, and technology leader who has scaled businesses across renewable energy, defense, aviation, manufacturing, and enterprise software. As a CTO, Nick has built high-performing teams and architected AI-driven and enterprise-scale systems that turn complex ideas into measurable business results. In our conversation, we explore the ...

Bob Hankins: Speaking Engineering to Business Leaders

Bob Hankins is Director of Engineering with more than 20 years of experience in engineering leadership, product development, and medical technology. Bob has built a career translating complex technical challenges into practical business outcomes while also serving in executive leadership roles, including interim Medical CTO. In our conversation, Bob shares insights on bridging co...

Thomas Mazzaferro: Helping Technical Professionals Influence Decisions

Thomas Mazzaferro is a globally recognized executive who has led AI, data, and digital transformation initiatives at several companies. We discuss how communication gaps between technical and nontechnical stakeholders can shape decision-making, trust, and business outcomes. We also explore the role of storytelling, leadership, and presentation skills in helping t...

Venkat Sivaramakrishnan: From Battery Research to Leadership

Venkat Sivaramakrishnan is an accomplished R&D leader who brings together deep technical expertise and strong people skills, currently working at the intersection of research, innovation, and business development in the battery technology space. He has also led global virtual teams and built international academic collaborations across India, China, and the UK. In this...

Kishore Ravilla: How CTOs Influence Business Decisions

Kishore Ravilla is a CTO with 25 years of leadership across healthcare, insurance, and financial services. In this episode, we explore how technology leaders can better communicate with business stakeholders, why storytelling matters in digital transformation, and how strong execution and operational excellence create lasting business value.

To learn more about Kishore, visit ht...

Justin Windle: Bridging Data and Business Communication

Justin Windle has more than 20 years of leadership experience across major financial institutions. In this episode, we explore why communication often breaks down between technical teams and business stakeholders, how storytelling shapes data-driven decision making, and what leaders get wrong about analytics, AI, and governance. We also discuss the communication skills data pro...

Jill Luber: Translating Tech for Everyone

Jill Luber is a longtime technology and data leader. Her career has included building the data backbone behind analytics products, leading major technology integrations, and overseeing engineering teams responsible for core linking and scoring systems. With deep expertise in data, engineering, security, and analytics, Jill is known not only for her technical leadership but also for her colla...

Renaud Adams: Mining Leadership through Communication

Renaud Adams is a mining industry leader with more than 30 years of global operational and executive experience across the Americas. Throughout his career, Renaud has led major organizations, helping guide strategic growth, operational performance, and major company transformations. In this episode, we discuss the communication challenges between technical and nontechnical stakeh...

Angelo Mazzocco: Speaking Beyond the Technical Audience

Angelo Mazzocco, President of Mazzocco Consulting LLC, has built a career that includes leading technology organizations as a CIO, president, and advisor across several companies. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member and has earned numerous awards for innovation, leadership, and service. In this episode, Angelo shares how communication breaks down between technical a...

Naomi Lenane: Fixing the Tech-Business Disconnect

Today’s guest, Naomi Lenane, is a results-driven CIO known for aligning technology with business needs. We’ll discuss why communication between technical teams and non‑technical leaders so often falters, and what those gaps cost an organization. We’ll also dive into how misconceptions about engineering and IT shape decisions at the highest levels, and what leaders c...

In this solo episode, I talk about my experience with Toastmasters and how it shaped how I view public speaking. For technical professionals who speak to decision makers, this episode was made with you in mind.

__

TEACH THE GEEK (http://teachthegeek.com)

Prefer video? Visit http://youtube.teachthegeek.com

Follow @teachthegeek (Twitter) and @_teachthegeek_ (IG)

Get Public Speaking Tips for STEM Professionals at http://teachthegeek.com/t...

Raffi Krikorian: Translating Tech for Better Business Outcomes

CTO Raffi Krikorian is a technology leader who has worked at the highest levels and, among other things, helped to launch the first self-driving fleet in the United States. In this conversation, we explore why communication breaks down between technical and nontechnical teams, the misconceptions that shape business decisions, and the real impact poor communication can ha...

Uma Subramanian: Bridging the Technical Talent Communication Gap

Uma Subramanian is founder of The Limitless Leaders, where she’s redefining how leadership is developed for the modern world of work. From scaling a global developer community to 37,000 members in just five months and leading developer success, she’s seen firsthand how technical talent can thrive or stall based on how well they communicate their value. In t...

Antonio Taylor: Turning Tech Talk into Business Value

Most organizations don’t have a technology problem; they have an ownership problem. Today’s guest, Antonio Taylor, has spent more than 26 years in IT and executive leadership helping companies confront exactly that. He’s worked with organizations navigating growth, risk, and transformation, bringing executive-level clarity to technology decisions without adding...

Jason Johnson: from Warehouse Floor to CIO Impact

CIO Jason Johnson leads a 210-person IT organization focused on making technology serve the business, not the other way around. From packing boxes on the warehouse floor to building data-driven systems that directly impact revenue, efficiency, and customer loyalty, he brings a rare ground-level perspective to executive decision-making. With a background in the U.S. Navy and the Depar...