Employers say adaptability is vital in professionals at every level. However, for engineers, breaking into to new technical areas (even adjacent to those you know well) can be slow and painful. Whether you’re an engineering consultant having to come to grips with a new technology, …
The new issue is now available online! Research Articles:Cultural Differences Between Chinese and Western User Instructions: A Content Analysis of User Manuals for Household Appliances, by Q. Li, M. D. T. de Jong, and J. KarremanThis study investigates differences in document design practices and …
News in recent days about the process and decision making tools used by Boeing in the Boeing 737 Max case reminds us about the importance of communication tools in engineering. As reported by The Daily Herald [1], Boeing made a detailed presentation to the FAA …
by Laura Patterson
Good design and good writing are, in many ways, invisible to the user. If something is designed well, then the user is able to use it as intended without necessarily thinking about the design. In order to achieve that invisible nature of good design in …
Engineers and communication do not mix: this notion remains commonplace among engineers themselves, as well as part of the stereotype of “the engineer” that is pervasive in the public eye. This is despite the fact that communication is now seen to be pivotal to …
For a technical audience of engineers, quantitative data often holds the key to persuasion. For more general audiences, however, narrative or storytelling has been shown to potentially hold greater sway. In addition, the effectiveness of both techniques is context-based and contingent on the type of …
One of the cardinal sins in professional communication is to focus on what you want to say, rather than what your audience needs to hear. A poet or a novelist may have the privilege of their audiences wanting to hear what they have to say, …
When we talk about “professional” or “engineering” communication, we almost exclusively focus on the skills required to deliver our intended messages to others. Even on this site, we almost exclusively focus on tips, skills, and techniques around writing and speaking persuasively and effectively (though …
One of the most frequent things we hear from audiences – both of reports and presentations – who fail to engage with and understand the content being communicated is: “What’s the story?” It may seem like an odd request, since engineering communication may not seem …
For the engineers that I have taught, one of the most challenging communication tasks is explaining scientific concepts to less technical audiences, such as the general public. Yet explaining their work to the public – and other audiences with varying levels of technical know how …
