Communication is key, but keys to effective communication?

Written by Chumlung Limbu , Lead Engineer

Communication is key! I am quite sure all of us have heard this phrase. However, not all of us grasp the keys to communicating effectively.

In the field of software engineering, there is a common notion— "All we need to do is code. Communication is not that important."

While this notion seemed to hold some truth during my early career, I came to realize the true significance of communicating well as I moved up the ladder.

Given how vast, variable, and subjective the field of communication itself is, it's next to insurmountable to cover it all.

Worry not, for there always are ways to navigate through. Here are a few approaches I learned, applied, and have worked for me to maneuver across this mammoth of a sea.

Know your audience

Many of us have this misconception that communication is about us and what we say. Nope, it's not. It's more about what your audience listens and understands.

Imagine listening to someone but everything they tell you goes over your head. At the end of your conversation, you realize you haven't understood a thing. You cannot pinpoint what the speaker was trying to convey. You wouldn't call this fruitful, right?

Same goes for when you're the one speaking and someone else is listening. You would want them to understand your thoughts, ideas, and arguments.

Knowing your audience is simply putting yourself in your listener's shoes and hearing yourself from their perspective.

When you start empathizing with your audience, you will start finding ways to improve your words.

In my field of work, I need to share ideas and discuss topics ranging from requirements of a feature, and reasons for bugs in code, to explaining the entire architecture of a system. And my audience varies from associate engineers to Solution Architects, clients, and Project Managers.

My take when I have to communicate is pretty simple.

If my audience is someone with a technical background (for eg: Software Engineer, Solution Architect), I use technical jargon like 'AWS SNS', 'API', and 'Middlewares'.?

Using specific terms like these is more understandable. If they do not understand certain terms, I first explain what those terms are and their importance to the context of the conversation.

If my audience is not from the same background (for eg: Project Managers, Clients), I use analogies that can help them understand the what and the why of those terminologies.?

For example: I would say "There is a service provided by Amazon's AWS platform, using which we can send notifications," instead of just "AWS SNS."

Clear concise sentences

This is another practice that has helped me a lot in improving my verbal communication. The idea is simple - "Keep it short and to the point."

I realized that when it comes to speaking, I tend to go on and on— almost always using long sentences connected together with lots of and’s and but’s.

I also realized this made my audience lose attention as it was hard for them to keep track of everything I was saying. It zoned them out.

Once I started keeping my sentences short and to the point, I found them to be more in line with my ideas and understood my reasoning better.

A small exercise. Read the following sentence aloud to someone, taking pauses only in commas and full stops.?

"Hi John, regarding our discussion yesterday like I said yesterday, there are complications because of the pricing plan from the AWS service and the AWS service does not have any other alternative. So we will have to use this service and this service will cost you quite a lot but as there is no other alternative we need to do this even though this increases your cost."

Ask them to repeat it back to you.

Now read the following to them, taking pauses in commas and full stops.

"Hi John. Regarding our discussion yesterday, we found there is a complication in pricing. The AWS service we are using costs quite a lot. But, there isn't an alternative to that. So, we need to use this service even if this increases the cost."

Ask them to repeat it again. I am pretty sure you will find the difference.

Read more

That's it - plain and simple. Allow me to explain how it helps. Reading not only helps you learn more but also adds new words and phrases to your vocabulary. It also makes you better at constructing sentences and speaking with a more refined tone.

You do not need a vast library of words in your day-to-day communication.?

However, those key moments where you understand words without having to look them up, give you that edge in the conversation. Also, different words can have different impacts despite meaning the same.

Saying “This is a big achievement,” has a different?impact than saying "This is an enormous achievement."?

Additionally, using idioms adds that zing your conversation when used in the right context.

While "We are going through the code carefully" gets the job done, "We are dotting the i's and crossing the t's" gets it done better in the right context.

Unlocking doors to effective communication

While the field of communication is vast and ever-evolving, the approaches I have mentioned above have served me as valuable tools to navigate the corporate world.?

Embracing new technologies, staying attuned to industry trends, and actively reading more are essential practices that will keep your communication sharp.?

As you continue to hone your communication skills, you're not just finding the keys— you're mastering the art of unlocking doors to success in your professional journey.