STEM professionals are often more focused on accuracy and problem-solving than on marketing their ideas.

The need to “sell” an idea or project, especially when metrics or data aren’t entirely conclusive, can be uncomfortable.

Below are three ways STEM professionals can “sell” their ideas or projects—without feeling like they’ve betrayed their scientific.

Translate Technical Value into Human Impact

STEM professionals often speak in features, but decision-makers buy outcomes.

This is a philosophy that your audience determines the content of your presentation. If you don’t deliver what they want, you will lose your audience.

You need to understand your audience’s challenge before creating your technical presentation.

Instead of leading with performance metrics (“it’s 15% faster”), start with the challenge solved (“this reduces downtime by 15%, saving the company $1M annually”).

The challenge is what your audience is trying to solve. When you start with this, you will seriously engage your audience. Provide a solution to their challenge, and you will have a captive audience.

Think of it as empathy—quantifying how your idea improves people’s lives, time, or budgets. This answers the question on every audience member’s mind – “So, what?”

If you don’t show relevance to your audience members’ lives, your presentation will not go well.

Use analogies or “before-and-after” contrasts to make abstract benefits concrete.

Comparing the unfamiliar to the familiar is always a good strategy in explaining complex technical subjects

Selling an idea isn’t abandoning logic—it’s giving logic a megaphone. Selling an idea is still telling the truth in a way your audience can apply to their personal and professional lives.

When STEM minds learn to translate precision into persuasion, innovation finally gets the audience it deserves.

One way to “sell” a product or service is to translate technical value into human impact.

Another way is to tell a data-driven story.

Tell a Data-Driven Story

Data alone is logic; a story gives it meaning. Frame your project as a narrative with tension and resolution: Challenge ? Approach ? Result ? Future potential.

Telling a data-driven story is another way to ensure your audience knows you understand their challenge and then solve it.

When you present your findings, guide the audience through cause-and-effect. Every part of your data-driven story flows logically from the previous part.

A good story lets the audience feel the struggle, not just admire the spreadsheet. Use visuals—simple charts, timelines, or even a short demo—to make your case memorable.

Two ways to “sell” a product or service are to translate technical value into human impact and tell a data-driven story.

A final way is to build credibility through collaboration.

Build Credibility through Collaboration

Selling isn’t persuasion; it’s alignment.

Bring in allies from different departments early—finance, operations, marketing—to stress-test your idea and adopt their language.

By the time you “pitch,” it’s not you against them; it’s us presenting a well-vetted solution.

Also, social proof is your secret sales weapon. Cite pilot studies, case examples, or testimonials from early adopters to show real-world traction.

Selling an idea isn’t abandoning logic—it’s giving logic a megaphone. When STEM minds learn to translate precision into persuasion, innovation finally gets the audience it deserves.

Persuasion implies pushing someone toward your conclusion. Alignment means discovering a shared goal and showing how your idea helps achieve it. STEM professionals prefer consensus built on data, not charisma.

Selling with alignment starts from the listener’s pain points. You’re not convincing them to “buy in”—you’re connecting your solution to their existing needs, metrics, and constraints. It’s empathy in action.

Persuasion may win the argument, but alignment wins the implementation. When stakeholders feel ownership in the decision, they advocate for the idea long after the pitch ends.

Three ways to “sell” a product or service are to (1) translate technical value into human impact, (2) tell a data-driven story, and (3) build credibility through collaboration.

As a STEM professional, are you selling an idea or project?

You bet you are!

Call to Action

• Understand your audience’s challenge before creating your technical presentation

• Tell data-driven stories to ensure your audience knows you understand their challenge and then solve it.

• Bring in allies from different departments early—finance, operations, marketing—to stress-test your idea and adopt their language.

References

• Cialdini, Robert. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Harper Business, 2006.

• Duarte, Nancy. Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences. Wiley, 2010.

• Pink, Daniel H. To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. Riverhead Books, 2012.

• Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. Simon & Schuster, 1936.

• Gallo, Carmine. Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds. St. Martin’s Press, 2014.

Being a confident, engaging, and effective STEM speaker is a vital personal and professional asset. With more than 40 years of engineering experience and more than 30 years of award-winning public speaking experience, I can help you reduce your presentation preparatory time by 50%, overcome your fear of public speaking and be completely at ease, deliver your presentations effectively, develop your personal presence with your audience; and apply an innovative way to handle audience questions deftly.

Working closely with you, I provide a customized protocol employing the critical skills and tools you need to create, practice, and deliver excellent STEM speeches and presentations. Let’s connect and explore how I can help you become the exceptional speaker you were meant to be. Please reach out to me at frank@speakleadandsucceed.com or 703-509-4424 for a complimentary consultation. Schedule a meeting with me at calendly.com/frankdibartolomeospeaks