Emeritus
College of Engineering | Technical Communication Program
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Steven Zwickel taught Technical Communications (technical writing, speaking, and document design) at UW-Madison from 1992 to 2020. He is a graduate of Binghamton University, where he majored in political science. He has a law degree (Brooklyn Law School), a M.S. in Social Work (UW–Madison), and a Diploma in Graphic Arts/Printing from Madison Area Technical College. Mr. Zwickel is author of two books on anger and workplace stress, of a text on technical presentations and professional speaking, and of a series of articles on agencies that helped American immigrants. Recent presentation topics include Communication-based Leadership, Persuasive Speaking, Researching Family History, Asylum Seekers at the Border, Finding the Chinese Jews, and Basics of Typography and Page Design.
Talks:
A Communication-Based Leadership Model
Leadership is defined as the ability to get people to participate in a journey from the way things are to the way they could and ought to be. Essential elements are:
1 Understanding of system
2 Vision of possibilities
3 Planning
4 Desire
5 Ability to communicate vision so want to reach goals
6 Flexibility
Persuasive Speaking
1 What is persuasive? Theories of persuasion from Aristotle to Click-bait
2 Common Persuasion Techniques
3 Secrets of Really Persuasive People
4 Ethics and persuasion—protect your reputation!
5 How Persuasion can work — A Five-Phase Process for Handling Objections and making your point
Volunteering at the Border
In 2020, I was a volunteer in El Paso working to help asylum seekers and children at the US–Mexico border. In this talk, I explain why I went and what was going on at the border. I will explain:
• Why are so many people coming here?
• How dangerous is the US–Mexico border?
• What is the current path to living legally in the USA? (and what is changing)
I describe what I did in Texas, what I was not able to do, and what I learned from this experience.
Working with Teams: How to Build Trust
No talk details available.
Basic Presentation Skills
No talk details available.
Use PowerPoint Like a Pro
No talk details available.
Face-to-Face: Effective Professional Communication Skills
No talk details available.
Presenting Professional Opinions
No talk details available.
Time Management
No talk details available.
The Art of Lecturing: Reaching Across Generations
No talk details available.
Effective Listening Skills
No talk details available.
How to Turn a Classroom into a Torture Chamber: Ineffective Teaching
No talk details available.
Teaching Across Generations: Millennials in the Classroom
No talk details available.
Persuasive Speaking in the Workplace
No talk details available.
Creating a Demonstration Presentation
No talk details available.
Using Numbers in Presentations
No talk details available.