Guest Post - Getting more women on-the-podium - Catherine McGrath

By Guest Writer - Catherine McGrath

Getting more women on-the-podium at conferences & events Catherine McGrath founder of #WomenSpeaking workshops

$200 discount per full price ticket for AWSN members email Catherine for the code or direct payment.

Seeing women at the forefront of public discourse is essential to gender equity. For AWSN members I pose these questions: 

are you seeing women at the front of your industry? 

• Are they visible? 
• Are senior women leading national debates, speaking at conferences, being quoted in newspapers and are they CEOs and senior managers?

The answer is suspect is ‘yes but not enough’. 

In this, the cybersecurity sector is like many others. Change is happening, but it is patchy and not everyone has the voice or the opportunity to speak.

Many women feel disempowered as they try to advance their careers without enough professional support.

I know how you feel. I have recently moved from a 30-year career as a leading broadcaster in television and radio (as a foreign correspondent and political reporter for ABC & SBS). I have had to build my own confidence as a speaker through hard work, training and practical experience. It wasn’t easy. But I did it.

Now beyond journalism my work is as a keynote speaker/MC and communications trainer. I had to teach myself to feel confident in front of a live conference audience. This is different to a TV audience that you can’t see. A thousand sets of eyes on you at an event can be confronting.

My callout is to ask you to push your organisations & businesses to support you in speaker training. It is essential to building your professional skill base.

At a recent business event I hosted, questions from the floor included no questions from women. At some business events, this is not unusual. The male attendees were quick to raise their hand, one even jumped to his feet before the microphone reached him.

Other women tell me there is a simple reason for this. Many don’t feel supported enough in these environments many others don’t feel they have the skill set required. Some events seem like a male-only club.

Hats off to those women who have no trouble speaking and asking questions at conferences. You are our role models. We need more of you.

Women: our time is here but still there are too few of us speaking at conferences, events and workplace meetings. Too few of us are visible as leaders. That means our contribution as professional women isn’t being equally recognised.

Training in this area is crucial. Many of us don’t feel confident enough to speak or present in front of others. Speaking is a professional skill, as important as knowing some accounting, some law, some occupational health and safety rules etc.

If you are terrified or reluctant? You are not alone. The good news is that help is here! With help and training, you can develop the confidence to say yes to that next offer to present at a conference or event.

We, as women, have great abilities and knowledge and we should share that.

At professional panels, many of us would love to see more women up there. We would love to join in ourselves.

We need to grow the skill base for professional women so that more of us feel ready and able to take to the podium.

No professional women who is a nervous speaker would want to put their hand up to speak in front of other professionals unless they feel prepared and ready.

I have launched training for this specific purpose. I believe women need more support. We need an opportunity to practice and train in a safe environment, in a setting away from the judgement and expectations of others. We need time to learn.

WomenSpeaking workshops in Sydney and Canberra provide a cost-effective one-day training where groups of professional women can learn and develop the skills they need.

Ask your organisations to send you.

Women from many different sectors come along. We have had a lot of attendees from STEM professions.

In workshops we break up into small groups where you get individual attention from experts including myself, an actor/voice coach, a TV/stage presence specialist and a writer/editor. 

Attendees get strategic and practical support in speech writing and presentation skills. There is specialist voice training and on-the-podium practice with a microphone. How does it feel to stand on a stage say your name and look out at an audience? It can be scary but practice in a real or simulated environment is the way to reduce the fear.

This is what our attendees say ‘‘I walked out a different person equipped with knowledge, skills, confidence & a tool-kit to keep me going on my journey.’

‘I only wish I’d done this 10 years ago so that I could have realised the value and satisfaction in communicating my voice.’

‘WomenSpeaking is more than training. It is a supportive network that empowers you to step into your own skin and be confident. Highly recommend.’

Next event Sydney Swissotel July 6^th book here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-speaking-workshop-to-boost-speaking-skills-confidence-sydney-registration-45393083936

Inquiries: 

         

$200 discount per full price ticket for AWSN members email above for code or direct payment.

More on women speakers please see the guest post by Lidia Giuliano: Where are all the women 

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If you are interested in writing a guest post for this blog please read the submission guidelines here >> AWSNblog-guest_post_guidelines <<

(c) AWSN 2018

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, organisation or association.

Guest Post - Productivity Series - Aparna Burke

 

While most clever blogs and articles offer insights to help you live your best life, my blog on productivity is what some might call an epic fail. No tips or tricks to be found here; what I do offer however is a story that made me think twice about what I do, and remind myself why I do it.

“Thanks for abandoning me”.

He wasn’t abandoned in the true sense of the word, not in the melodramatic I-left-to-get-a-litre-of-milk-and-never-came-back-kind-of-way.

But, in his 9-year-old mind, it made sense to use that word, in that situation, the day I forgot to organise a different option for school pick as the MIL couldn’t make it.

In a thirty second window between meetings, I had fixed it and he was swiftly collected.

Needless to say, I felt like crap. And then, with the deft precision that only small children have, he made me feel worse, quietly saying on the phone, I don’t want to talk about it now, I want to talk about it face to face. 

CUE THE MOTHERGUILT

By the time we were face to face he had forgotten about it. But I hadn’t. 

Why did I forget, why didn’t I write it down, why didn’t I organise myself the day I found out MIL couldn’t do it? Are my productivity tools not working?!

I consider myself to be a pretty organised person, but while performing the juggling game of life, with one leg in the air and the other balancing on a stilt, I sometimes drop the ball. 

My brain has reached the point of saturation, so I write things down. I use various electronic tools to track my work/meetings etc, but, I love writing (and shiny pens with pineapple tips) so I have a work diary and use wall calendars and journals and lists. Who doesn’t love a good list?

And then, I want to do all the things. I ‘aint turning down nothing but my collar…

 N.B I don’t really do all of the things, I hate laundry and gardening never makes it onto my good lists.

I love my family. I love my friends. I love my job and my fur baby is the best. I know the difference between busy and productive. I know what my priorities are. I don’t feel like I need balance, I need time. 

Now that I’m older, I am trying so hard to avoid falling victim to the myth of immortality, squeezing every last drop of life out of my allocated daily minutes, I fear I am undoing all my industrious efforts to fit it all in.

I’m consciously stopping for the roses but do I always smell them before I move to the next thing on my list?

Am I so focussed on doing all the things that I forget to reflect on some of the things?

Working in corrections I often came across the criminal offence “loitering with intent”. It is the difference between hanging around and hanging around with a purpose.

This made me think, maybe I’m already productive enough. Maybe the key to my best life is to learn how to loiter with intent (and without getting arrested). 

Aparna Burke

Communications Advisor, RSM

Having worked over 18 years in corrective services, running treatment programs, working on policy and managing strategic communications, I am now happily employed with RSM Australia. I work in Perth’s Tax Services Division as a Communications Advisor. 

(c) AWSN 2018

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, organisation or association.

Guest Post - Write to be Read - by Kristine Sihto

This is a guest post by one of our regular contributors, Kristine Sihto

We are writers, all of us, in this age. Every text, every tweet, every email creates a documentary trail of our existence. We are each an author of an autobiography that extends over multiple platforms and locations, in our personal and our professional lives, whether we intend that creation or not. Writing is ubiquitous in our lives.

But just because a thing is written, that doesn’t mean ‘written well’. 

Bad writing fails to communicate efficiently and can lead to misunderstandings, lost time, frustration, and can impact the way people view your professionalism and ability.

The key to good writing is clarity. 

This extends across the entirety of writing, from choosing the correct homophone or punctuation, through to writing for the intended audience; every writing ‘error’ comes down to a failure to communicate efficiently. The page strips out the contextual information you would normally see in face-to-face communication, such as pitch and tone, facial expression, and body language. For this reason, clarity in writing needs to be far more accurate and comprehensive than a conversation would be.

Clarity tips:

• Write for your target audience. This is especially important if you’re conveying highly technical information.

◦          Even if you’re writing for an informed audience, assume that you know a lot more than they do, and explain your working.

◦          Where instructing or explaining a process, use ‘show and tell’ formats (such as screenshots or step-by-step photographs) if you can. These can be easier to follow than purely text-based instructions.

◦          If your audience isn’t technical, but your content is, remember that. Write in a way that avoids unnecessary details and explains concepts that may be unfamiliar. If you can write in such a way as to be understood by a teenager, you’ve hit the right balance.

• Limit the number of words in a sentence. If you’ve got 50 words in your sentence and you don’t have any punctuation inside it, it will be hellish for the reader to try to comprehend. A long sentence can usually be broken up into two or more sentences with a little restructuring, and your readers will have a more pleasant experience.
• It should never be assumed that the reader has the same level of knowledge as you, or that they have the same lexicon. If you need to use jargon, provide glossaries. If you need to use acronyms or initialisations, write them out fully the first time.
• Use a spell checker program. However, you shouldn’t rely entirely on your spell checker, especially if you know you have bad spelling. Read each of the options the spell check offers you before accepting the default option, because computers are often wrong.
• Use a text-to-speech screen-reader to play your writing back to you. Listening to your text can highlight words that have been used incorrectly, or grammatical issues like sentence fragments or run-on sentences.
• Get another human to read your writing, preferably someone who is pedantic about small errors. You should, however, make sure it’s someone who is more invested in the outcome of your writing than they are in their relationship with you. Close friends and family members may wish to save your feelings, and may be overly optimistic about the quality of your work. It’s also important that you are gracious about accepting critique; bad responses to honest critique can destroy the credibility of future critique, as your proofreader may decide to lie in order to keep the peace.
• In all instances, write as simply as you can, using plain English. This includes when writing to C-suite executives. Executive levels of management have to read all day, and they’re just as human as you or I am. Making a document easy to understand is key to getting the words read and understood. This isn’t Scrabble; there is no scoreboard, and big words don’t earn you more points.

Source of image unknown

These are not examples I have picked from the blue. Throughout the years I have been editing, the consistent issues I come across time and again are:

1. Assuming the reader has the foundation knowledge to understand you (lack of glossaries, using unexplained acronyms or initialisations, writing for the wrong target audience).
2. Not allowing enough opportunity for the reader to pause and comprehend meaning (run-on sentences, lack of punctuation).
3. Using sentence fragments (either through forgetting to finish a thought, or through a misunderstanding of grammar).
4. Over-reliance on spell checkers (incorrect/inappropriate wording) or lack of spell checking (spelling errors throughout a document).
5. Trying to impress (executing overtly loquacious confabulation with an aspiration to appear astute and resourceful).

If you can avoid these five things, your writing can appear more polished and professional.

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If you are interested in writing a guest post for this blog please read the submission guidelines here >> AWSNblog-guest_post_guidelines <<

(c) AWSN 2018

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, organisation or association.

Article Series - Support through Sharing - interview with Tina

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By Amanda-Jane Turner, Chief Editor & National Blog Manager of the official AWSN Blog

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The official blog of the Australian Women in Security Network (AWSN) is running a series of interview articles with the theme of Support through Sharing. The intent of these articles is to share the human experience with others to inspire, motivate and encourage readers via a brief glimpse into the life of others. Some interviews may include experiences you can relate to, or learn from, other articles may amuse you, but hopefully all the interviews will provide you with valuable encouragement and inspiration. This article series feature interviews with a diverse range of people who have willingly participated in the process to inspire others. 

This article in our series 'Support Through Sharing' interviews a lady from Perth Western Australia who has worked in the ICT industry for over twenty years, has a BSc(computing) degree and is currently studying a diploma in counselling while working. Inspirational! 

An interview with Perth, WA, ICT Professional – Tina

Harley Davidson aficionado and infosec professional, Tina, grew up in the UK and now hails from Perth Western Australia. She has worked in the Information Communications Technology (ICT) industry for over twenty years and currently works as a business systems manager for a state government department.

Tina has seen a lot of change in the ICT industry over the years and reminisced that at the time she completed her Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree  she was one of only three females in an enrollment of two hundred and at the end of first year she was the only female left! She added that this is changing and she is happy to see the increase of women in tech roles over the years. Tina advises all in ICT careers to stay motivated and work in an area that has a great culture and exciting projects. Happily never suffering from discrimination in the industry herself.she shared how she has had the privilege to work with some great male peers who foster a supportive work culture and camaraderie.

Tina - photo supplied

When asked if she would share some challenges she has had in life Tina cheerfully shared two, both of which she has succeeded in: completing her degree while simultaneously raising her family and working and, learning to ride a Harley Davidson when she had never ridden a motor bike before! On the subject of her first degree, Tina mused:

It was challenging to complete my degree with raising a young family and working all at the same time. I knew I had to complete it as “Computers were going to take over the world”, and they nearly have!

Actively involved in volunteering and her community, Tina is studying a Diploma in Counselling as she is passionate about helping others and fears that not everyone has access to the help they need.

Thank you to Tina for giving her time to participate in this interview.

(c) AWSN 2017

  

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, organisation or association.

Slip, Slop, Slap Cybersecurity

by Ricki Burke

Slip, Slop, Slap was the slogan of a famously successful campaign in Australia and New Zealand to raise the awareness for the public to protect themselves against the increased risk of skin cancer. Protecting yourself against the sun (Slip on a shirt, Slop on sunscreen, Slap on a hat) may seem like standard actions to many of us now but this was launched by Cancer Council Victoria in 1981.

Fast forward 30 plus years and there is a new threat which appears have caught people unaware, Cybersecurity. We are vulnerable at work, home and in public but the problem is, only a small minority seem to know this.

Recently I was on the train and sat next to someone doing online banking on their laptop. I'm a curious person, (thankfully not mischievous) and was able to see a lot of information I shouldn't have. Fortunately for that person I had no ill intentions, but if I did, he could have had a bad day. 

One of the biggest weaknesses any organisation has, is its people. A staff member could innocently click on a bad link and suddenly your whole network could be at the mercy of ransomware. This is one common problem found within the working environment. There are too many examples to list. But, what happens when someone is still working whilst travelling on the train or working from a café and dealing with confidential information?

At home, you or your family could be online, shopping or posting information innocently without taking the necessary measures to protect themselves. The problem is that hardly anyone knows what measures to take. And, whose job is it help raise awareness to the wider public?

The lack of public awareness is not just a local problem but a global one. When I searched #CyberAware I was pleasantly surprised to see a Twitter account from UK based Leicestershire Police, @leicscyberaware.

The advice may seem simple to those in the Infosec or IT world, but if you’re not from this environment how would you know what steps to take? I think there is a general misconception that emails, published sites or apps available to download on phones will be safe. As if there is some sort of regulation of what is can be made available online…

I think that the responsibility to raise awareness does not lie with one organisation or authority, but instead we could all take more of an active role in providing education. If organisations can really start teaching their employees to be more #CyberAware at work, then they, in turn take that home to educate their families or those around them. We need a collaborative effort across government, councils, education providers, authorities and corporations.

A memorable TV ad worked in the 80’s for skin cancer. How do we now communicate this growing threat to the masses?

This post has been written by Ricki Burke who kindly provided his time to contribute to the AWSN blog.

Ricki is an Information Security recruiter with Interpro and has over 5 years experience in the IT industry. He has supported organisations globally, providing them with talent with niche skills. In total, he has spent over 10 years working to understand business needs, recruitment consulting and building relationships. He is actively looking to make a difference within the industry and is a Co-Founder of Cyber Security Career Kick Start, a free event for students to gain knowledge and practical steps to get their first job within Information Security. Plus, he is partnering with networking groups such as AWSN to help promote diversity.

 This post has been written by Ricki Burke and & published by A Turner  on behalf of AWSN. 

(c) AWSN 2016