Question: what do you think your greatest challenge has been and how did you over come it?

Neil Taylor answered on 12 Mar 2015:

Hi JessicaV!

I think that the biggest challenge I have overcame is presenting to an audience! I remember at the early years of University, I didn’t really enjoy presenting at all. Then, after having a presentation course in my final year (and another one in my first year of work), I learnt from some great presenters how to overcome my presenting obstacle!

I think it was a combination of seeing a recording of myself presenting, and understanding that everyone feels a little nervous when presenting – it’s about how you control and channel that energy.

To prove my newly found presentation skills, I entered an IMechE (Institute for Mechanical Engineers) presentation competition called “Speak out for Engineering”. This competition is an annual event that invites young engineers to speak about a technical topic in a way that is easily understood by non-engineers. I chose to talk about “Lateral Buckling in Subsea Pipelines”, and I was lucky enough to win the competition!

I now really love presenting! It has proved to me that you can really master something that you didn’t think you had any ability in – you just have to get some training and work hard at it!

Hope this was the type of answer you were after!