David Otey helps technical and analytical professionals communicate with confidence, tell stronger stories and create practical results.
5.00 of 5
Top rated!5 of 5
"David’s sessions both online and in person attract dozens of members whenever he speaks. He really understands what their work-world is like. We look forward to having him in the program because we know he puts the audience first and will collaborate to produce a session everyone enjoys."
Joy Davis
C.A.E.
David P. Otey is a speaker, coach, trainer and author who helps technical and analytical professionals communicate their expertise with greater confidence and impact. A former engineer with a career spanning broadcasting, technology, training and speaking, David knows how to connect with quantitative minds without losing sight of the human side of communication.
Through highly interactive in-person and virtual programs, he has helped thousands of people across three continents pursue personal and professional growth. His coaching has supported graduate students working toward their Ph.D.’s, scientists seeking renewed funding and engineers looking to advance their careers.
Drawing on a distinctive combination of engineering expertise and communication experience, David gives participants practical tools for presenting ideas, telling the story behind technical work and communicating with confidence.
David P. Otey is a speaker, coach, trainer and author who brings together two worlds that are often treated separately: technical expertise and powerful communication. Having worked as an engineer himself, David understands the quantitative and analytical mindset from personal experience. He knows that professionals with deep expertise often need more than conventional presentation advice. They need communication tools that make sense to the way they think and work.
David has helped thousands of people across three continents in their pursuit of personal and professional growth. His programs are known for being highly interactive, whether delivered in person or online, with an emphasis on confidence, participation and practical results.
As a coach, David has worked with people at demanding stages of their academic and professional careers. He has helped graduate students earn their Ph.D.’s, scientists secure renewed funding and engineers take important steps forward in their careers. His approach focuses on helping people communicate what they know in ways others can understand, remember and act upon.
Book David Otey for an event where participants need practical communication skills combined with an approach that speaks directly to technical and analytical professionals.
David Otey began his career in broadcasting and eventually became VP of Engineering at Austin's public television station, KLRU-TV. Throughout his engineering career, he maintained the highest level of professional certification from the Society of Broadcast Engineers.
His expertise also contributed to the NAB Engineering Handbook, Tenth Edition, where he coauthored a chapter. As his career developed, David became a recognized expert in digital radio technologies.
That technical background eventually provided the foundation for a major professional transition. David was selected to lead an industry-wide, nationwide training initiative supporting the rollout of a new technology within the TV news industry.
The scale of the initiative was considerable. The training effort successfully reached more than 10,000 broadcasting professionals and became the catalyst for David's second career in training and professional speaking.
This journey gives David an unusual perspective when working with engineers, scientists, technical specialists and other analytical audiences. He has experienced the realities of technical work firsthand and understands the challenge of translating detailed knowledge into communication that reaches people beyond one's immediate field of expertise.
A central theme in David Otey's work is the ability to communicate technical knowledge with confidence. Expertise has greater potential to create change when people can understand why it matters, and David helps professionals find effective ways to tell that story.
His work addresses the practical challenges faced by people who need to explain complicated ideas, present their work, influence others or lead teams while remaining credible and precise.
Participants can gain insights and tools that help them:
Develop greater confidence when presenting and communicating
Make complex and technical subjects easier for others to understand
Think critically about communication situations rather than relying on formulas
Use storytelling to communicate the importance of technical work
Engage audiences in both virtual and in-person settings
Apply practical communication tools in leadership and professional situations
David's sessions are designed around active participation. Rather than treating communication as knowledge to be transferred from trainer to participant, his programs encourage people to engage with situations, consider how they communicate and develop skills they can continue using afterwards.
David Otey is also the author of the Speaker's Quick Guide series, created for emerging and developing speakers. His books provide accessible guidance for people who want to strengthen their abilities as communicators and presenters.
The series includes The Speaker's Quick Guide to Presenting with Confidence, which focuses on one of the recurring themes of David's work: helping people become more assured and effective when they stand in front of an audience.
David also hosts the biweekly podcast The Power of Story and Science. The podcast explores why telling the story behind technical work matters and how stronger communication can help important ideas have an impact on the world.
The combination of story and science captures a central element of David's professional approach. He understands the importance of accuracy, evidence and technical detail while recognizing that information needs a compelling human context if it is going to connect with an audience.
David Otey's programs have earned positive responses for both their content and their delivery. Participants have described him as knowledgeable, personable, thorough and engaging. Others have highlighted his ability to create an atmosphere that puts a class at ease while keeping participants actively involved.
Feedback has also emphasized that the value of his programs goes beyond transferring knowledge. Participants have pointed to learning how to think critically through situations, giving them an approach they can continue applying after a session has finished.
His ability to engage participants extends to virtual training. One participant praised David for keeping everyone engaged in a virtual setting while providing practical tools that could be used when leading a team.
This combination of technical credibility, communication expertise and interactive facilitation makes David particularly relevant for organizations and audiences where complex knowledge needs to be communicated clearly and confidently.
David's academic background reflects the same combination of technical and communication disciplines found throughout his career. He holds a BA in Radio-Television-Film and Physics from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
He also holds both an MA in Communication and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Together with his engineering career, professional speaking experience and work as a coach, trainer and author, this multidisciplinary education shapes the way David approaches professional communication.
Booking David Otey gives audiences access to a speaker who understands what it means to work with complex ideas and then face the challenge of making those ideas meaningful to someone else. His sessions combine experience from engineering, broadcasting, communication, business and training with practical methods participants can use in their own work.
For engineers, scientists, technical professionals, emerging speakers and leaders who want to communicate with greater confidence and impact, David offers an approach grounded in both analytical thinking and the power of a well-told story.
5 of 5
"David’s sessions both online and in person attract dozens of members whenever he speaks. He really understands what their work-world is like. We look forward to having him in the program because we know he puts the audience first and will collaborate to produce a session everyone enjoys."
Joy Davis C.A.E.
5 of 5
"Working with David has been the most challenging, yet rewarding, experience. His coaching not only helped me to develop a well-crafted speech, but it also gave me the confidence and performance skills I needed to deliver it."
Tammy M. M.S.W.
5 of 5
"After this presentation for TEDx Billings, it was the most amazing thing, the number of people who came up to me and told me that they felt like they were right in the middle of the story with me – that it impacted them to a different degree because they felt the story and didn’t just hear it."
Sherry W. Former Olympian TEDx Speaker
5 of 5
"The reason we keep on having David Otey come back to us is that he has the information that our members care about."
Lesleigh R. Education Manager AAPS
Keynote by David Otey:
When leaders model authentic strength by asking for help, teams stay more focused, engagement deepens, and retention strengthens across the organization.
“Impactful...made the space safe!”
Audience Takeaways
Keynote by David Otey:
This candid parent-child perspective deepens understanding, overcomes shame, and models how to navigate mental-health struggles personally and in one’s close relationships.
“Raw and real...eye opening...helpful”
Keynote by David Otey:
When organizations make it safe to talk about struggle, shame fades, trust grows, and both lives and workplaces are saved.
“Important and thought-provoking”
