Five Communication Tips to Help Engineers Advance Their Careers

In the past, engineers were tasked with building and inventing — and if they weren't that adept at getting their vision across with words, someone would translate for them. In today's socially networked world, engineers need to be able to effectively convey their ideas. They need clear communication skills to further their careers. 

Engineers are often brilliant problem solvers, but have trouble articulating the value in what they have just accomplished. Here are five characteristics of great engineer communicators.

They "sell" their ideas effectively.

Engineers do not need to become card-carrying sales people — that's not their talent. However, they do need to be able to sell their ideas in order to have them supported and funded. Whether with technical and management team members or clients, it is necessary to present ideas in a compelling way. Doing so helps convince others of the merit of these ideas and builds credibility. An engineer who can prepare and deliver a clear, concise and believable message comes across professionally.

They are excellent listeners.
Engineers need to capture user and client insights for specification documents.

Often in the aerospace and government contracting worlds, product requirements and needs are clearly and often completely defined in specifications and requirements documents. In the commercial, industrial and consumer product worlds, this is often not the case, and engineers need to alone or with a diverse team, meet with prospective or current clients to extract the opportunities and needs. In such situations, engineers will often be communicating with others who do not share their perspective and technical competence. Extracting information requires good listening skills and the ability to translate what is heard into technical requirements.

They write clear, concise content.
Engineers must craft clear and concise written documents, emails and presentation materials to be effective at their jobs.  They must be careful not to use jargon and technical terminology, especially if the receiver of the information is not a technically-oriented person.  Importantly, the engineer needs to step into the mindset of the audience/readers and write in a form that gets to the point quickly and speaks in a language that is readily understood by the audience.

They know which type of communication is appropriate.
Engineers need to use the best method of communication, from the messaging and collaboration tool “Slack” to good old face-to-face. Even if the stereotype of uncommunicative engineer rings true at your office, engineers must be careful to use appropriate forms of communication. Options for electronic communication abound but when dealing with sensitive information or when there is a chance of misinterpretation, the best form of communication is face-to-face discussion. Complicated or distressing information should always be delivered in person, or via phone/video conference. By communicating in person, the message is less likely to include impersonal or emotional messages — and body language and voice intonation can enhance mutual understanding.

They engage their audiences.
Engineers need to present in front of groups. Public speaking is a skill necessary to advance any career. Many people have difficulty with such venues. Anxiety and tension are natural. Plenty of presentation classes are available (an important subject for another day). However, classes alone won't do the trick: The only way to get more comfortable with presenting in front of audiences is to do it as often as possible. With practice, the anxiety may not disappear but it can become manageable.

One tip: Be plainspoken. Don't be condescending, but don't assume your audience has a high level of technical competence. Technical jargon gets old fast.

Developing effective communications skills is important for both career advancement and for streamlining everyday interactions. Even those engineers who prefer a more solitary role will benefit from understanding how to communicate appropriately. While such skills may not be natural to many engineers, they can be learned.

While it may be true that few of us will become the great orators of the world, with practice and attention, engineers can become effective communicators, which benefits not only our careers but our engineering teams as well.