Stephanie Slocum has given presentations and workshops everywhere from Fortune 500 corporations to the Society of Women Engineers Conference, to STEM non-profits and college student audiences. She speaks on business, entrepreneurship, people skills, and women in STEM topics.

Known for her engaging, insightful, and practical talks, Stephanie’s audiences learn how to embrace their unique skillsets, stop second-guessing their worth at work, and articulate the business case for themselves so that they can become recognized for the leaders they are. Attendees leave her presentations knowing they are not alone in their struggles and feel empowered to take action.

Below are sample topics and presentations. Please click HERE for a full list of topics.

Please contact us via the button below if you’d like to schedule a talk or workshop.

What people are saying about Stephanie’s Talks + Workshops

Featured Talks: Women’s Groups/ERG’s

STRATEGIC SELF-ADVOCACY FOR WOMEN IN STEM

You chose a STEM career path because you were fascinated by the technical work. Now, you’re struggling to be recognized. You’ve tried working hard, telling yourself: “If I just work harder and get so good I can’t be ignored, THEN I’ll be recognized for my skills.”

The payoff hasn’t been what you expected: more work, an ever-growing to-do list, and being underappreciated and taken for granted.

The solution: Strategic self-advocacy that feels good and positions you as an influential rising leader in your organization. This interactive presentation will teach you:

• How to self-advocate so you can work less + advance in your organization

• The biggest self-advocacy pitfalls for women technical professionals and practical strategies to avoid them

• The surprisingly simple (and immediately applicable!) methods women in leadership positions use to self-advocate that you can model, based on the presenter’s exclusive data from the She Leads STEM 100 Leaders Project

• Practical ways to level up your career IMMEDIATELY through self-advocacy that feels good

How to MANAGE conflict + personality clashes with grace and ease

Do you struggle to show up as a leader in conflict situations? Have you ever cried, gotten defensive, or froze in a moment of conflict, only to beat yourself up afterward for your lapse in professionalism? Do you wonder how to balance showing up authentically while battling the societal bias that “women are emotional”?

80% of employees report dealing with conflict at work. Common examples you may have encountered include personality clashes, email chains and meetings that become finger-pointing sessions, gender identity-related triggers, and getting critical feedback. The good news is that this leadership skill - cited by women engineering leaders as “critical to advancement” - can be learned. Discover the science behind how we react to conflict and practical techniques to respond so you can show up as the leader you are.

You will learn:

• The neuroscience behind the brain’s reaction to conflict (and how you can use it to your advantage!)

• Three ways to build your mental fitness levels so you can show up as a leader even in stressful situations

• How to activate your problem-solving skills in conflict so you can respond professionally

• How to manage high emotions in conflict situations using our simple SOAR framework

• Common triggers (including examples from the presenter’s engineering career) and practical ways to deal with them

Breakthrough conversations: The missing link FOR WOMEN IN STEM

You’ve sought out mentors, worked on your confidence, and spoken up. It’s the career advice we’ve been given for more than 20 years, even as the retention rate of women in STEM has stalled (despite record percentages of women graduating with those degrees!).

But what if we’ve got it wrong when it comes to career advancement for women, and there is something else causing your career stall and is keeping you from rising into a leadership position? Learn how to make the business case for yourself make sure others in your organization know it.

How to Build Unshakeable Confidence

Career success requires confidence. Yet, many women professionals - even with decades of experience - struggle with negative self-talk around their abilities, feelings of unworthiness and not belonging, and imposter syndrome.  You’ll walk away inspired and empowered with practical strategies to shore up your confidence when you need it, and help others to do the same.

You will learn:

• Nature vs. nurture: The underlying factors that can lead to a confidence crisis for women professionals

• The surprising ways professional confidence challenges manifest at work

• Common triggers that deplete your confidence and what to do about them, both in-the-moment and long term

• How to show up with professional confidence without “faking it,” even when you don’t feel confident

Featured Talks: Leadership and Organizational Excellence

6 strategies for empowering women leaders

You “leaned in,” “raised your hand,” and “spoke up” at work. Then, the pandemic happened, causing a mass re-thinking of individual and organizational priorities. Today you work in a constantly evolving hybrid world where you see yourself and the high-achieving women coworkers you support tempering – and sometimes outright rejecting - their leadership ambitions.

Why is this happening, and what can individuals, allies, and organizations committed to gender equity do about it? Join us for this visionary, interactive, and practical talk that will invite you to think deeply about what it means (and looks like) to be a leader in AEC. You’ll leave inspired and with practical actions you can take to empower yourself and the women in your organization through data, story, and the presenter’s 100 Women Leaders 2021 case study project.

Note: If you are looking for the perfect talk to celebrate women in your organization and empower allies of all genders, this is it! This talk is perfect for a mixed-gender audience, and especially popular as an event during Women’s History Month (March) or in honor of International Women in Engineering Day (June 23rd).

TACKLING TOUGH CONVERSATIONS

Have you ever:

• Needed to give or receive critical feedback?

• Struggled with how to approach a boss, employee, or client with bad news?

• Put off a tough conversation because you’re concerned about harming a relationship or not sure what to say?

• Exited a discussion feeling disappointed in yourself because your emotions got the best of you, and you didn’t show up professionally?

In this session, you’ll learn the neuroscience behind why we struggle with conflict and practical strategies you can use to hack your brain chemistry so that you can show up as a leader when facing a challenging conversation. You’ll learn the 4-step leader response blueprint you can apply to any conflict situation. Since 85% of employees report experiencing conflict at least once a week, this must-have leadership skill will set you apart, no matter where you are in your career right now.

Presenter note: This talk has a well-received 60-minute option. However, we highly recommend the 2-hour workshop because participants get to practice applying these skills in a low-stakes environment.

Winning work cultures: 3 steps for happier and higher-performing teams

Peter Drucker famously said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." Yet, culture is a second thought to getting things done for many growing engineering firms. The unintentional culture that emerges can stall the growth of even the most high-potential organizations, including:

• Struggling to recruit and retain diverse talent to fill the leadership pipeline

• Back-channel conversations that fuel resentment, conflict, and turnover

• Individuals feeling like their hard work isn't appreciated

• Negativity

• Struggles with buy-in for internal initiatives and processes.

The solution: build a culture of contribution, where individuals at all levels are empowered to speak up and bring their unique skillsets and perspectives to work.

When people feel connected, the result is a winning workplace culture where people stay, clients are happy, and a competitive edge results from higher performance.    

In this interactive presentation, you'll explore the business case behind building a culture of contribution, the three steps to creating that culture, and the behaviors individuals at every level (no matter their current title) can incorporate into their day-to-day interactions to enhance their relationships with colleagues and clients.

You'll discover what gets in the way of positive cultural change and leave with practical strategies to contribute to a competitive cultural edge for your organization.

Featured Talks: College Students

SUCCESS STRATEGIEs: 5 KEYS TO ROCK YEAR ONE OF YOUR STEM CAREER

What does it take to have an impactful career in engineering, construction, and technology that is authentic to who you are? How can you set yourself up for success from the start of your career? Learn what it takes to have a successful career, pitfalls to avoid, and practical takeaways that you can apply in your first job and beyond. Based on our Founder’s years of private industry experience, research, and dozens of interviews with successful engineers, you’ll leave this talk inspired, invigorated, and ready to confidently make the transition from student to professional.