Meet our
speaker
Introducing
Sharon Steed
@sharonsteedSharon is a communications consultant with over a decade of experience creating and managing
content. She helps companies communicate better with their audience as well as their fellow team
members.
She has spoken to universities about stuttering, at Ignite Chicago about patience,
and several tech conferences about improving communication skills through embracing vulnerabilities.
How to talk to humans: a different approach to soft skills
Developers are trained to communicate to things with a goal in mind. When
you're talking to something like, say a computer, you type in your code and it responds by giving you
back what you want. Nine times out of ten, it works perfectly. Why, then, is it so difficult to do this
same thing when talking to a client about a project, updating a superior on your progress, or pitching
an investor your million-dollar idea? Because talking to people requires a special set of skills -
namely, empathy and a little bit of storytelling. In an industry filled with brilliant minds, great
ideas and mass disruption, so few of the best and brightest know how to tell their compelling
story.
The takeaways from this talk will be learning how to value the listener, improved social
connection and becoming a master at building a relationship quickly and effectively.