5.1 Nicole McLean, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, InStage

EPISODE NOTES

Topics discussed in this Episode include:

The origin story of Nicole McLean and InStage in building a safe interactive simulation operation where people (e.g. college students) can practice on-line a variety of presentation soft-skills with avatars and get feedback before going out for the first internship or cooperative education experience.The analogy to sports and leveling the playing field is discussed as a metaphor for the importance of practice to proper execution and success at interviews. This is particularly true for young students who lack practice and may come from underserved populations where that practice is less available.The amount of practice is discussed and how much or little time with the avatars is required. Sometimes as little as 15 minutes is all that is needed, but others do more. The key is marrying the technical knowledge from classwork to the soft-skills needed to present the student to an employer for the work-based experience they seek.The power of this approach to uplift students tripped off a conversation about the interviewer’s field of practice, Speech Pathology. and how health professions in general rely on experiences and how this could change student progression into this field.Some students report a great advantage in using the InStage system and wish they had had it earlier to boost their careers. The conversation turned back to leveling the field among those with learned skills but who did not have the chance to practice their soft skills like they can in this online system. They noted a joy that comes from helping – from keeping people from missing out so they can pursue their dreams and communicate effectively.

Resources discussed in this episode:

https://www.instage.io/Tik Tok video illustrating how it works 

 

Music Credits: C’est La Vie by Derek Clegg