TASK 3: THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR ENGINEERS

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“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)

According to Marybeth Miceli, the work of engineers is often unappreciated, and deemed insignificant, as engineers themselves struggles to bring across their scope of work and ideas clearly to the general masses. This is compounded when such condense, complex descriptions are not properly translated into simple, brief and understandable presentation or persuasive speeches that can spark the interest of listeners.

In my opinion, I agree with Marybeth Miceli to a major extent that the engineers' work is often unrecognized among the general masses. This is exacerbated with the lack of understanding, discussions, and awareness on our works as communication of such works usually manifests in a more professional and technical setting. When being among peers, engineers are inclined to communicate using technical languages. However, when communicating and explaining such ideas to the general population, it is an uphill task to turn technical jargons into layman terms, creating an impression that engineering is a difficult language. Thus, for engineers to be given credits for their work, it is essential to improve on our communication skills and knowing how to equate engineering processes with daily occurrences.

Comments

  1. Brad Blackstone4 January 2023 at 20:03

    Thank you, Yen Jee, for being the first to post a reaction to the quote.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yen Jee26 January 2023 at 21:12

      Dear Professor Brad, thank you for the feedback! I look forward to learning more from you !!

      Delete
  2. Timothy Sim9 January 2023 at 17:00

    Thank you Yen Jee for sharing as I am able to gain a deeper understanding about the quote

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yen Jee26 January 2023 at 21:14

      Hello Timothy, thank you for your feedback. I look forward to learning more about you throughout this module!

      Delete
  3. Kiran9 January 2023 at 17:56

    Thank you Yen Jee for sharing your insight on this topic! The organisation of your reaction is clear and coherent. You have a good use of language, which makes your content easy to understand. I definitely agree with your point that engineers are used to speaking more technically, and I appreciate the solutions you provided!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yen Jee26 January 2023 at 21:15

      Hello Kiran, thank you for the feedback! I appreciate your kind words! I look forward to getting to know you more !

      Delete

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