What if we didn't have to be "one of the guys"? | Emily Nichols | TEDxMcMasterU
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Emily Nichols (P. Eng.) at TEDxMcMasterU 2023. #future #leadership #workplace #communication #gender #engineering
She’s an engineer who loved working in factories, but she didn’t always love being ‘one of the guys’. Authentic and entertaining, Emily Nichols reminds us that words become habits, language evolves, and we control them both. She shines a light on language that limits our thinking and invites us all to deliberately choose our own words. You can reach Emily at emilynichols.com
Timestamps:
00:10 Hello. Hey guys!
00:52 Are you “one of the guys”?
01:54 It’s a “manpower” meeting in manufacturing…
02:59 Women in Agriculture: Have you ever seen a barn that says “Janet Smith and daughters”?
04:48 Shirts, swag, and personal protective equipment (PPE)
07:47 This talk is about…
08:10 The future of women in engineering + manufacturing + agriculture + STEM + trades
09:40 Survivor fans: be like Jeff Probst and drop the word “guys”
10:37 Would you rather “act like a lady” or “take it like a man”?
11:50 Discovering that "Language is humanity’s most spectacular open-source project." --Gretchen McCulloch
13:06 Let’s let the next generation grow up to be…exactly who they are.
14:33 A word for the men in our lives
15:45 On making mistakes
16:31 In every conversation, we have a choice…
16:50 Let’s choose words that open minds and open doors…Words shape our world.
Speaking from the stage or the factory floor, Emily Nichols nudges technical people to embrace their human skills, so they can become better problem solvers, team players, and leaders. A professional engineer with decades of experience in manufacturing and innovation, Emily has worked with organizations like PepsiCo, PPG, Janssen, and Henkel, improving products and processes from breakfast cereal to automotive paint and electrical steel. Emily easily connects at all levels of organizations, inspiring deeper understanding and collaborative teamwork. Emily has a B.Sc. in Systems Engineering (University of Guelph) and a M.A.Sc. in Chemical Engineering (McMaster University). She summarized her master’s thesis in five Dr. Seuss rhymes.
Video production and editing by NSHAPS Productions. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
I got the privilege to watch this talk live at TEDx McMaster and this was my favourite talk of the day. Since this talk, I have stopped saying guys or ladies to my girlfriends. I even stopped saying Mr. and Ms. in my formal meetings. Thanks for raising awareness.
Your favourite talk of the day! Thank you Sunny, I’m honoured. And thank you for inviting me to speak to your group a few weeks after TEDx - the Q&A afterwards was rich, and gave me a some new ideas to add in for the next audience.
After protesting gender-specific language in my 20’s, I had succumbed to the familiarity of using guys. As a female engineer in my 50’s, I’m going back to my roots, thanks to Emily’s talk. Language is so powerful; let’s use it to accelerate change.
Emily's powerful message shines a bright light on the words we use every day... too often without thinking about the message behind the words and the optics they create. Everyone deserves to feel included and honoured for who they are and what they offer in the messages we communicate. Thanks Emily! (and I love 'niblings' too!)
Great stuff! “Just drop it” is a lovely and effective solution.
Great job.
Fantastic Emily! Growing up in a house with 4 boys, my mom always made a point to teach us to think about this very thing.
Being seen and feeling like we belong is so important.
Looong before she was sharing this message with the world (and galaxies, far far away), Emily was using her Jedi word tricks to correct my ‘man’erisms. Her simple approach makes it feel effortless to learn and adapt.
Your ‘man’erisms?! I’m going to be laughing at that one forever. You’re the best.
Oh Emily what a beautiful and poignant talk. You delivered it flawlessly, such an important message. Thank you for sharing your gifts!
A powerful message about the importance of language in creating our world.... Emily always brings clarity and powerful storytelling to share her messages and this Tedx talk is no exception. As a speaker at our events, Emily has always been well prepared, does extensive research and provides background and examples to illustrate key points in a fun, energizing and compelling way - she truly is a word ninja (or Jedi!).
IMPORTANT and MEMORABLE
Emily’s talk was inspiring, thought-provoking, and important. It’s going to stick with me for a very long time!
Brenda Barratt
Great TED talk Emily. You paint such a clear picture. It's almost cringeworthy how relatable your examples are to conversations I've been a part of this week. Thanks for sharing your story!
Relatable…that’s high praise. Every speaker wants to be relatable!!! And I dream of the day that this talk is no longer relatable, because its goals have finally been reached.
I brought two young women with me to hear Emily’s TEDx talk live, and it was such an empowering message for them that we discussed it the whole ride home! Emily’s advice to be mindful of how we default to male words like “guys” is a powerful message that resonates well beyond the trades, engineering and other traditionally male-dominated professions. After watching Emily’s TEDx Talk, you will never be able to “unsee” our biased language and commit to doing something about it.
“…discussed it the whole ride home…” Amazing to hear! Yes, I’ve noticed that audiences are hungry for discussion after hearing my talk, and it’s wonderful. We’re all learning together, and there will always be ways to improve.
Great talk Emily! It's amazing how a small change such as dropping one little word from our vocabulary can have such a powerful effect on literally billions of people out there... we can - and must - do better. I dropped "guys" a few years ago in favour of "folks" and "y'all" (depensing on context and audience), and it's served me well over the years. I invite everyone to do the same.
Emily’s storytelling style is simple, sincere, and suitable for all ages. We hired her last year to speak at our STEM camp for girls, and we’re going to have her back again this year at GE HeatlhCare Canada. Thank you Emily for your ability to craft the right message to the right audience.
Not only is this is a timely, much needed message about how the words we use daily truly shape our world, it is brilliantly crafted (one could say engineered!) to help Emily's message penetrate and stick! Emily's talk is a mini-masterclass in how to develop and deliver a unique, timely, powerful and much needed "idea worth spreading".
Terrific talk! And feeling guilty as charged even though I work on gender equity issues! Ingrained from an early age.
“…ingrained from an early age…”
Absolutely. As kiddos, we mimic the grownups around us, and as adults, we adopt the vocabulary of those around us as a way of fitting in. Words are contagious!
I can still remember when I first discovered Ted Talks. The ideas were breath takingly new, and the deliveries were master pieces of narrative connection. I was truly the kid on Christmas morning who couldn’t wait to open the next Ted Talk when it arrived. But then I grew up and just like Santa Clause I no longer believed in Ted Talks. The luster and connection were gone, replaced with vanilla pudding deliveries and more DeJa’Vu content. But then suddenly somebody comes along and says hey you wake up I am talking to you about how you talk to me! Say what? It’s time to sit up straight and listen! It’s strange how something so obvious can sit right in front of you for an entire lifetime and never be noticed until the right person comes along using a fresh narrative and delivery that simply demands your attention. This TEDx talk is talking to all of us about how we talk to each other. And it's a game changer.
"...It’s strange how something so obvious can sit right in front of you for an entire lifetime and never be noticed…”
Yes! If “business as usual” works for you, it’s hard to notice the ways that “business as usual” isn’t working for others. There’s always more to learn.
Perfect example Halloween costume/safety sizes took me both back in time-memory and put me in the space when converting to safety gear. ‘Words shape our world.” Thank you for bringing a deeper awareness to the topic.
This is why I believe when we have “75% marginalized voices at ALL decision-making tables, everywhere” we will have finally experience gender equality.
As I developed this talk, I auditioned a few different ways of making the safety/fit issue more accessible. So glad the Halloween costume analogy resonated for you!!
Emily dives into the crucial topic of gender equality with the use of language as our number one tool. With eloquence, charisma, fun and insight, she navigates the challenges faced by women in the engineering field, while emphasizing the imperative of inclusivity and diversity in the way we express ourselves. A powerful must-see for simple tools contributing to a more equitable future. Emily’s storytelling is natural, genuine and extremely prepared. She comes across very laid back and yet, every single pause, word, voice level, movement is well thought and planned. Wow!
“Simple tools contributing to a more equitable future.” Yes!! I wanted to make it simple! The theme of TEDx McMasterU was legacy, and something as simple as the words we choose everyday can create a lasting legacy. Thank you Nathalie.
Emily shines a bright light into the often dark corner of gender inequality and reveals that we all have a role to play in breaking down barriers. What could easily have been a political or social polemic is instead a cleverly crafted narrative that weaves effective storytelling with excellent research and an impassioned call to action. She teaches us that “words shape our world” and that “knowing” needs to translate into “doing”. Most importantly, Emily invites us to challenge our long-held assumptions and cherished beliefs about gender roles, and her talk serves as a clarion call to develop a deeper sensitivity to the impact that our words have on others.
As I was writing this talk, I also wrote myself some notes on how I wanted it to sound, e.g. “This talk will be positive and uplifting, not complaining or accusatory. It will focus on the future, not fixate on the past.” It’s meant to be an invitation, and I’m so glad to hear that you saw it that way. Here’s to moving the needle on gender equality, one word at a time.
Cool+Sigma.
Definitely😀 not Juan of the guys
😂😂😂