IEEE Consultants' Network of Long Island

Our May 4 Meeting - Dick LaRosa

Our May 4 meeting was well attended and the meat balls and ziti supplied by Marty Kanner were a real treat. But best of all was the fact that I was able to hear our speaker, Vince Socci, Chief Engineer of On Target Technology Development. The slides describing his 12 steps to success as a consultant were clear and easily readable. He knew them well, since they were distilled from his experience, and he had obviously given the talk many times. He did not have to consult the screen each time a new slide was presented. He faced the audience, spoke clearly and kept the volume up. Wonderful. He described the effect of the business on his family life, and suggested ways to maintain harmony. Consultants in the audience were inspired to present their experiences. There were some differences, but they were acknowledged with respect. It became abundantly clear to me that I would not enjoy Vince Socci's life, so I collected some books that Irwin Weitman was giving away and went back to my contemplative life and attempts at rainmaking and taming the Loop Current. On the way out the door, Fred Katz convinced me that I had better use Boolean search terms to avoid wading through tons of junk on Google.

Speaking - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

I attended a seminar recently which was about medical issues, not electronics. What struck me was how poorly many people, including some of the speakers, seem to be at verbal communication.

There were several microphones set up, but one of them went dead. The speaker to whom that microphone had been provided kept trying to use it. Why?? I have no idea. It didn't work, yet he seemed certain that if he kept the thing near his face, his words would somehow carry across that room which must have held several hundred listeners. Mind you, this person was a doctor, an intelligent man whom you would think would know better.

At the end of the spoken presentations, the floor was opened up for questions and answers. A man was sent out into the crowd carrying a wireless microphone, but not everyone whom the moderator recognized was given that thing in order to be heard.