Engineering

Communication
Part 1
ES2631
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate understanding of the communication requirements of
the Engineering workplace;
2. State four purposes of Engineering communication;
3. Demonstrate understanding of some principles and steps to
developing interpersonal and intercultural communication skills;
4. Demonstrate understanding of key audience aspects to consider in
any communication.

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Communication in the Engineering Profession
• Professional activities:
• Writing [emails, reports, manuals, studies, proposals, technical specifications]
• Speaking [conversations, meetings, presentations]
• Drawing [design, infographics]

• Majority of time spent on written and oral communication,

particularly oral communication
• “the engineering workplace is … an oral culture”
• Decisions often made in oral discussions

(Darling & Dannels, 2003; de Souza Almeida, 2019)

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Communication in the Engineering Profession
• Most important skills:
1. Problem recognition and solution skills
2. Effective communication skills

• Engineers need to
• Tailor their messages to multiple audiences
• Select the most appropriate type of communication medium
• Write clearly, concisely and precisely
• Communicate globally, as this is an increasingly demanded requirement in
industry

(Darling & Dannels, 2003; de Souza Almeida, 2019)

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Basic Engineering Communication Skills
• Listen
• Question
• Negotiate
• Translate: articulate ideas so that they are meaningful to the audience
• Technical to non-technical
• Design results to visual information
• Numbers to results-oriented structure

(Darling & Dannels, 2003)

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 “Modern engineers not only need to produce technically
appropriate designs, but (also) to communicate these designs in
written, oral, and graphical form to multiple audiences ranging
from their technical peers to the general public.”

(de Souza Almeida et al, 2021, p.390)

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 1. Purpose
Three 2. Context
Concepts 3. Audience

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Purpose
1. To express/ explore
2. To inform
3. To motivate action
4. To evaluate past action

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Purpose: Express/ Explore
• Involves expressing a feeling or idea or
working on an idea
• Usually informal and personal
• Audience is the self (writer)
• Example: engineering notebook or journal

Source: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-
projects/engineering-design-process/mind-mapping

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Purpose: Inform
• Involves explaining and provides a
deeper understanding
• Usually formal
• Audience is expert or non-expert
• Example: technical documents

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/675399275359553491 /
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Purpose: Motivate Action
• Involves persuading reader to take
action
• Usually formal
• Audience may be expert or non-expert
• Example: proposal

Source: https://www.visme.co/templates/proposals/engineer-proposal-1425280012/
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Purpose: Evaluate Past Action
• Involves analysing
• Usually formal
• Audience may be expert or non-expert
• Example: reports with a forensic purpose

Could have legal significance

Source: https://online.fliphtml5.com/rllbc/zdmn/#p=1
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Multiple Purposes
Seek approval for purchase
of a $1.4m 2013 Vermeer
T1225III Trencher:
• Inform – explain the
functions of the equipment

• Persuade – show the

benefits and importance of
the equipment

Source: https://blog.rbauction.com/the-5-most-expensive-equipment-items-sold-in-europe-in-2021/

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 1. Purpose
Three
2. Context
Concepts 3. Audience

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Context

Interpersonal Physical
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal Social
Intrapersonal
Small group Relational
Small group
Organizational Cultural
Public Historical
Media
Mass Psychological
Media Situational

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Interpersonal Skills
Five Principles Five Practical Steps
1. Be cognizant of yourself 1. Establish your goals
2. Be conscious, respectful and empathetic 2. Observe successful interactions
toward others 3. Identify ways to practise
3. Actively listen to others 4. Solicit feedback
4. Avoid talking over others or speaking for 5. Reflect and modify
them
5. Collaborate more by saying “Yes” before
saying “No”

(SkillsYouNeed, n.d.)
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Intercultural Communication Skills
Key areas of knowledge for improving intercultural communication:
• Knowledge of cultures, organizations/ institutions, history, general way of living of
different communities & nations and that they affect behavioural norms

• Understanding of how culture can affect communication and language

• Understanding of the conventions that govern behaviour in certain specific

intercultural environments

• Awareness of own and others’ beliefs and values, and willingness to recognize
when these may clash

• Sensitivity towards cultural stereotypes that may affect/ interfere with effective
intercultural communication
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Intercultural Communication Skills
Application of knowledge:
• Show your willingness to meet others at least halfway by learning a few phrases
of their language.
• Talk to people to know the culture of common traps and problems.
• Adapt your behaviour; don’t always expect others to adapt to you.
• Check your understanding and that of others.
• Don’t be afraid to apologize.
• Use media to learn about behavioural issues and norms.
• Reflect on your experience.
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 “Good intercultural communication fundamentally
requires intercultural awareness, an understanding that different
cultures have different standards and norms. But more, it requires an
understanding that individuals are shaped, but not bounded, by their
cultural background and that, sometimes, you have to meet people
more than halfway.”
(SkillsYouNeed, n.d.)

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 1. Purpose
Three 2. Context
Concepts 3. Audience

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 Audience
Engineers engage with a wide variety of audiences.

Technical experts Non-technical audiences

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Audience
Constructing your audience
• Their
• What do they know?
• What do they not know?

• Their
• What interests them and/or what meets their need?
• What external factors affect how they process the information?

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Audience’s Technical Expertise
HIGH-CONTEXT AUDIENCE LOW-CONTEXT AUDIENCE

• Expert knowledge of subject and • Little knowledge of subject and

project project
• Look for specific information • Need full explanation
• Responsibility for understanding • Responsibility for understanding
lies with audience lies with author/speaker

MIXED-CONTEXT AUDIENCE
Knowledge of either subject or project
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Audience’s Motivation and Attitude
Consider
• What are their needs, concerns, hopes, aspirations, values,
interests?
• What are their thoughts and beliefs related to the issue?
• What are barriers that prevent them from giving the desired
response?
• What are facilitators that encourage them to give the desired
response?

(The Compass for SBC, n.d.)

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Myths about Audiences
1. Audience expects elevated language.
2. Audience knows what I know.
3. Audience are idiots.
4. Data speak for themselves.

(The Compass for SBC, n.d.)

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Communication challenges in the Engineering
Workplace
1. Cross-generational communication differences
2. Linguistic and cultural differences

(de Souza Almeida et al, 2021)

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Cross-Generational Communication Differences
Different generations of engineers have differing perspectives due to:

Differences in Young Engineers Senior Engineers

• Forms of communication • Prefer technology-based • Prefer oral communication,

communication (e.g., particularly face-to-face
messaging) communication
• Value of communication • Value convenience of • Value effectiveness of face-
technology-based to-face communication
communication

• Communication styles • May regard themselves as • Humble and ready to learn

having enough knowledge

(de Souza Almeida et al, 2021)

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What engineers need is humility more than anything else. I was the same way as a young engineer. I
walked out of a very good engineering school at a very good university with an engineering degree and I
thought I was a smart guy and I thought I had a lot of answers. And over the course of my career, I’ve had a
lot of very good men knock me down a peg and teach me a thing or two... Humility and engineering,
understanding that you’ve got a degree but you’ve got a lot to learn, that’s a very important part of that.
And frankly, a lot of that is the ability to communicate with guys.

(de Souza Almeida et al, 2021, p. 397)

I think a lot of young engineers don’t appreciate the impact to their own careers and to the effectiveness
of their job that their own ability to communicate is. And I think a lot of young engineers believe that being
a really smart guy is enough and that’s never enough.

(de Souza Almeida et al, 2021, p. 398)

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Engineering Communication Skills
1. Effectively speak, write and interact with varied audiences by
• addressing audience needs
• using audience-preferred medium
• using appropriate structure and message focus
• applying interpersonal skills through communicating humbly and respectfully

2. Willing and self-motivated to initiate communication with others

and seek out resource information through informal interactions
3. Listen carefully to achieve results valued by different stakeholders

(Darling & Dannels, 2003)

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References
Irish, R. & Weiss, P. E. (2013). Engineering communication: From principles to practice. 2nd ed. Oxford
University Press.
de Souza Almeida, L. M. (2019). Understanding industry’s expectations of engineering communication
skills. All Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8622&context=etd
The Compass for SBC. (n.d.). How to do an audience analysis. https://thecompassforsbc.org/how-to-
guides/how-do-audience-analysis
Big Think. (2018, July 26). Improve interpersonal communication skills in 5 steps.
https://bigthink.com/plus/improve-interpersonal-communication-skills-in-5-steps/
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, April 27). 11 ways to improve your interpersonal skills.
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-improve-interpersonal-skills
SkillsYouNeed. (n.d.) Intercultural communication skills. https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/intercultural-
communication.html

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 PART 2
CLARITY, COHERENCE, CONCISENESS,
COMPLETENESS