54 Minutes That Will Change How You Communicate in Tech

MindSpeaking Podcast Episode 32 - Steve Huynh

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Highlights:

00:01 – Why tech work often gets ignored

00:13 – Meet Steve Huynh: Amazon to YouTube

01:05 – What finally pushed him to quit

03:07 – “I was holding myself back”

04:50 – A book changed everything

06:52 – No one cared about his YouTube

09:14 – Family pressure after quitting Amazon

10:20 – The trap of pleasing others

13:45 – His way to kill imposter syndrome

18:21 – Why tech folks crave escape

22:41 – Storytelling helped him get promoted

27:16 – You’re invisible without communication

32:37 – Build connection without small talk

36:27 – What YouTube taught him about growth

41:03 – Becoming a dad changed his drive

49:54 – The bathtub strategy for long-term wins

Summary

In this conversation, 🎙️ Gilbert Eijkelenboom talks with 🗣 Steve Huynh—former Amazon Principal Engineer turned creator with 170k+ YouTube subscribers—about why he left Amazon after 18 years, how introverts can build relationships at work without “networking,” a practical way to quiet imposter syndrome, and how storytelling helped him get promoted. Along the way, they discuss data storytelling techniques, effective stakeholder communication, building trust with stakeholders, gaining stakeholder buy-in, business-focused data insights, and presenting data to stakeholders without drowning them in details. Expect concrete advice on avoiding technical language overload, limiting excessive detail in presentations, and connecting with non-technical audiences.

Data Storytelling Techniques for Business

🎙️ Gilbert Eijkelenboom: 

Steve, welcome.

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

Great to be here—looking forward to it.

🎙️ Gilbert: You made a big change recently: quitting Amazon after ~18 years. What made you leave?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

Big changes usually come from two forces—running toward something or running away from something. I’d had tons of reasons to stay: good pay, security for high performers, and the ability to switch teams when bored. But when I calculated the opportunity cost, I saw a cap on impact and compensation inside a large company.

With my YouTube channel and other projects, I get the full upside (and downside). To 10x my reach—not just 2x—I needed a new path. Inside Amazon, my ability to help people was naturally limited. Outside, I can scale my impact.

🎙️ Gilbert: 

Was there a moment it clicked?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

Reading 10X Is Easier Than 2X. If you aim to 10x, most options fall away and a few credible paths remain. For me, 10x impact was impossible within corporate walls. I set a goal to help a million people grow their careers. That forced the decision.

Building Trust and Managing Stakeholder Expectations

🎙️ Gilbert: 

How did people react—coworkers, friends, family?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

Early on, nobody watches your videos—family interest fades fast. At ~100k subs, Amazonians started recognizing me. Coworkers were supportive—almost like, “Go fly; I’ll hold the fort.”

Family (immigrant, East Asian background) felt understandable apprehension about leaving prestige and stable pay. That put healthy pressure on me to perform—meaning: keep growing impact and reach in a values-aligned way, not just chase numbers.

🎙️ Gilbert: 

How do you judge performance two years from now?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

I balance two traps: discounting the future (aiming too low) and unrealistic comparisons (aiming at MrBeast). I try to draw a reasonable trendline from past to present, add a few percentage points, and manage expectations. The goal is sustainable momentum.

Engaging Non-Technical Audiences with Data

🎙️ Gilbert: 

You’ve spoken about imposter syndrome. How does it show up in tech?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

In tech, you’re often learning new things—so by definition you’re facing the unknown. That fuels impostor feelings. Oddly, there’s also a flip side: once you gain knowledge, it’s easy to drift into superiority. The sweet spot is the middle—confident yet curious.

A practical tool: look back 1, 3, 5, 10 years. The evidence of growth is undeniable. Use that to steady yourself while you keep learning.

🎙️ Gilbert: 

Love that visual of looking back at the hill you’ve already climbed.

Using Stories to Drive Data Impact

🎙️ Gilbert: 

You’ve made many promotions at Amazon. Where did storytelling and communication fit?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

My degree is in creative writing. At Amazon—a document-centric culture—writing equals clarity of thought. Writing is like technology: you download the model in your head onto paper for others.

In meetings, be concise (answer the VP’s yes/no), but weave micro-story elements to spark curiosity—an intriguing problem, a human consequence, a crisp resolution. That’s presenting data to stakeholders in a way that lands, fosters effective stakeholder communication, and ultimately gains stakeholder buy-in.

Avoiding Excessive Detail and Technical Language

🎙️ Gilbert: 

Many tech folks think, “I was hired for the technical stuff—shouldn’t I share all of it?”

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

No one can read your mind. Attention is finite; output is infinite. We’re drowning in data about what everyone is doing. The solution is a digest—a short, scannable summary of outcomes and impact that builds trust with stakeholders.

Don’t open a firehose of minutiae. Use data storytelling techniques to spotlight the result, the metric moved, and the decision it enables. Keep details available, not front-loaded. That’s how presenting data to stakeholders highlights your technical ability instead of burying it.

Tips for managing technical jargon (without dumbing it down):

• Lead with the business question and the decision it informs.

• Use layered detail: 1) headline, 2) key evidence, 3) appendix.

• Swap acronyms for one-line definitions the first time they appear.

• Use before/after visuals to show impact (baseline vs. delta).

• Cap presentations with three takeaways and an ask (what you need from stakeholders).

• Practice limiting excessive detail in presentations—time-box deep dives.

Confidence-Building for Analysts & Introverts

🎙️ Gilbert: 

Many data people are introverted. Where do you sit—and how can introverts build relationships?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

I oscillate between introvert and extrovert. Many YouTubers I know are introverts who flip a switch on camera.

For introverts at work, stop treating relationships as transactions; treat them as connections. Start by understanding what makes people tick—their problems, motivations, constraints. Be the person who connects problems to helpers. That’s understanding stakeholder needs and managing stakeholder expectations without forced small talk.

Intrapreneurship vs. Entrepreneurship

🎙️ Gilbert: 

Why do coworkers often cheer when someone leaves to “do their own thing”? Can companies create more entrepreneurship internally?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

People forget that inside big tech you can work on impossible-to-replicate problems (e.g., massive search). The challenge is the cycle: thrilling highs (world-changing work) and lows (grunt tasks, shareholder value chores).

If you stay, seek the highs—projects you cannot do outside. Not everyone should quit to make content. But everyone can optimize for growth and impact where they are.

How Storytelling Upgraded My Communication (and Promotions)

🎙️ Gilbert: 

How did YouTube sharpen your communication?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

Starting a channel is like launching a startup where you do every job badly at first. There’s a gap between taste and ability. I invested in coaching (camera confidence, content, delivery) to accelerate the curve.

Crucially, I focused on rate of improvement. That mindset helps analysts too: start, then improve quickly—especially at presenting data to stakeholders and connecting with non-technical audiences.

Values, Ambition, and Parenting

🎙️ Gilbert: 

How did becoming a dad shape your growth mindset?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

I grew up with high expectations (immigrant, East Asian family). I don’t want my kids to inherit that pressure. I care more about a growth mindset than raw ambition.

Growth mindset means: when things don’t work, ask which skill is missing and how to build it. I want my kids curious, fulfilled—whether in tech, art, or cooking—and I’ll model that by pursuing meaningful impact.

🎙️ Gilbert: 

Any practical parenting take?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

I’m early—kids are 2 and 0. But the principle is: reward curiosity and effort, not just outcomes. In careers, the same applies—optimize for learning velocity and compounding skills.

Using Stories to Drive Promotions at Amazon

🎙️ Gilbert: 

Before we wrap, how did storytelling specifically help you get promoted?

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

I practiced turning complex systems work into clear narratives: the problem, the stakes, the options considered, the chosen path, the measurable impact. Those narratives made business-focused data insights obvious, built trust with stakeholders, and gained stakeholder buy-in for my proposals.

Promotions reward visible impact. Storytelling makes impact visible.

Where to Find Steve

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

YouTube: A Life Engineered.Newsletter: weekly at newsletter.alifeengineer.com.

Discord: ~5,000 members (links on YouTube/LinkedIn). Great place to chat and get advice.

🎙️ Gilbert: 

We’ll add links in the show notes.

Closing Metaphor: Strategic Patience

🗣 Steve Huynh: 

Values-based strategy is like pulling the plug in a bathtub. If you’ve validated the strategy, the water will drain—just not instantly. Keep doing the right things long enough for reality to catch up.

🎙️ Gilbert: 

Beautiful. Thanks for the clarity, vulnerability, and concrete tactics on communication, data storytelling insights, and career growth.