Task 3: The Importance of communication skills for engineers (Week 1)

“I contend that we (engineers) are undervalued because of our widespread

inability to explain what we do to the general public (and why it is so important).

It is one of the hardest goals to accomplish, to be able to boil down difficult

concepts into a short and easily understood presentation or elevator pitch.”

Marybeth Miceli, President, Miceli Infrastructure Consulting, USA, (2011)

Engineers solve problems. To solve these problems, we use the vast sometimes complicated knowledge we learned often to design, build and improve the things around us. We tend to prioritise on learning engineering-related concepts, and often neglect or do not have extra time nor resources to brush up on our communication skills. Explaining in simple terms is difficult in our diverse industry. Schools in the past do not teach communication skills the way we do now. Most details we talk about are important to take note because precision in dimensions and instructions for example, leads to better safety of structures or product use.

Engineering involves a lot of technical details. If our target audience, the general public do not understand us be it in meetings, presentations or even press interviews, it will be difficult for us to sell ourselves or our products to them with our lack of communication skills. This has been an issue also because time is money for many. If we cannot keep our presentations quick and clear, we may bore them and end up wasting their time. Hence, putting us in a bad light.

Therefore, if we have better communication skills, we might be able to tear down the barrier fast by giving better presentations and elevator pitches. We will be seen in a better light and as a result, will improve lives and the things we build. Put simply, the ability to collaborate or communicate with each other effectively despite different backgrounds helps to build a better world without walls. 

Written by: Zaki & Zarni