Quote review

  “While all engineers should have good communication skills, global engineers

face additional challenges, making effective communication an imperative.”

Debra Kraft, Careers Content Writer, Demand Media (2016)

Good communication VS effective communication. What are the differences between these two? Good communication entails understanding the message sent while effective communication is fully understanding the initial message sent by the sender. While it is true that engineers have a general understanding of what they do and the common technical terms used, there may be times where there is a language barrier or a different name used for a specific tool/procedure that may be confusing. Therefore it is important that engineers converse with each other in a way that both engineers will be able to understand fully the message that they are trying to deliver with clarity. For example, metric system units is used differently in each country/region. The US uses Fahrenheit while Singapore uses Celsius. Such a difference may impede effective communication. So to overcome that, depending on which region they are trying to communicate to, they would have to change it accordingly. In addition, it is important that they understand the importance of listening to other engineers instead of wanting to have a say in everything and think that only their way is the right way. Breaking down problems together and ensuring that everyone is on the same page rather than just proceeding forward without the clarification of other engineers can help with communication. Thus, to converse in a way that is precise and specific so that both parties can understand will help to improve efficacy while working together, making effective communication number one! 😀