Many engineers tend to be introverts and more reserved when it comes to standing out in front of colleagues to speak on behalf of their work. Shocker right? As an engineer myself who speaks in front of fellow engineers, managers and at times to entire teams of engineers to present/defend project I too still have moments where I fear I am going to present with confidence a mistake in my math, test procedure, or my entire concept having an obvious flaw that I overlooked. Having your work analyzed and criticized by others in general is not what we desired, but if you start off your presentation with a few key statements and be prepared to receive all forms of criticism through a calibrated filter, you can build upon and improve rather than simply shy away and fear their words. 1. Ask for Constructive Criticism in the Beginning If you start off your presentation with a quick, simple statement like “I am open to suggestions to improve this project, so please jot down anything you can give some advice and at the end we will go over everything together.” This instantly relieves the pressure for you to feel about your content not being totally accurate. Someone will always find a flaw and try to be the smartest person in the room for finding it, so best to give them that opportunity in a controllable manor, on YOUR terms. Aka the end of your presentation.