Writing and coding go hand in hand

Much like coding good writing takes practice. Software developers sometimes ignore this skill. It can wreak havoc on their career. Written communication is used daily.

Emails, IMs, and other forms of written communication are required to complete tasks. For instance, a poorly worded and hasty email can get you the wrong information.

Key points

Plan out your key points. Identify the subject. “Before you put pen to paper or hands to keyboard, consider what you want to say,” says Carolyn O’Hara. Don’t just start writing.

A manager I worked with would remind us to share the essentials. Then if people ask for more information share it. Don’t overshare initially or they will ignore it.

Concise

As a developer, we live in the details. Although, to communicate effectively we need to tease out the main point. This Indeed article states, “People who can speak concisely also typically speak clearly because they can focus on the specific details they want to convey without adding information that might be confusing or distracting.”

Ask yourself a few questions before writing something. What is my main message? What is the key information to share? These two questions can help you trim the extra details.

Review

Once you have crafted your message review it. If you have time let it sit then come back to it. Read through it to ensure you have covered your key points. Finally, make sure it is concise. Remove the fluff or extra information.

As you can see writing and coding do go hand in hand. Each one requires us to understand our key points. The words you use need to focus on the message. Avoid any extra words. This could distract from your main point. Lastly, review what you wrote. Similar to testing your code read through it.

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