Engineering Communication Skills

I was Wrong about Influence. Early in my career, I believed influence in a decision-making meeting was the direct outcome of a strong artifact presented and the ensuing discussion. However, with more leadership experience, I have come to realize that while these are important, there is something far more important at play. Influence, for a given decision, largely happens outside of and before decision-making meetings. Here's my 3 step approach you can follow to maximize your influence: (#3 is often missed yet most important) 1. Obsess over Knowing your Audience Why: Understanding your audience in-depth allows you to tailor your communication, approach and positioning. How: ↳ Research their backgrounds, how they think, what their goals are etc. ↳ Attend other meetings where they are present to learn about their priorities, how they think and what questions they ask. Take note of the topics that energize them or cause concern. ↳ Engage with others who frequently interact with them to gain additional insights. Ask about their preferences, hot buttons, and any subtle cues that could be useful in understanding their perspective. 2. Tailor your Communication Why: This ensures that your message is not just heard but also understood and valued. How: ↳ Seek inspiration from existing artifacts and pickup queues on terminologies, context and background on the give topic. ↳ Reflect on their goals and priorities, and integrate these elements into your communication. For instance, if they prioritize efficiency, highlight how your proposal enhances productivity. ↳Ask yourself "So what?" or "Why should they care" as a litmus test for relatability of your proposal. 3. Pre-socialize for support Why: It allows you to refine your approach, address potential objections, and build a coalition of support (ahead of and during the meeting). How: ↳ Schedule informal discussions or small group meetings with key stakeholders or their team members to discuss your idea(s). A casual coffee or a brief virtual call can be effective. Lead with curiosity vs. an intent to respond. ↳ Ask targeted questions to gather feedback and gauge reactions to your ideas. Examples: What are your initial thoughts on this draft proposal? What challenges do you foresee with this approach? How does this align with our current priorities? ↳ Acknowledge, incorporate and highlight the insights from these pre-meetings into the main meeting, treating them as an integral part of the decision-making process. What would you add? PS: BONUS - Following these steps also expands your understanding of the business and your internal network - both of which make you more effective. --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

Why do so many communicators lose their audience? Often, it’s because we try to share everything. When communicating a complex project, whether it’s a new product feature, a design sprint, or a strategic pivot, we often see broadcasting ideas into the world as our goal. We want to show every wireframe, every debated nuance, and every data point we collected along the way. But our brains are not wired to absorb a stream of disconnected information. When we overwhelm our audience, we increase their cognitive load and quickly lose their attention. Our goal should be to make sure our audience understands. The antidote is structure. Structure acts as a psychological roadmap. It guides both the speaker and the listener through a clear, reasoned journey. On the Think Fast Talk Smart: The Podcast, I often talk about the importance of packaging ideas so they are easy to follow and easy to remember. One framework I often recommend for complex projects is what I call the 5P structure. It helps presenters walk their audience through a clear progression of ideas so the story behind the work is easy to understand. 1) Problem: Define the issue at hand 2) Process: Shaping your thinking 3) Proposal: Outlining the solution 4) Proof: Sharing the potential impact 5) Progress: Pointing forward Instead of overwhelming people with information, the structure guides them through the challenge you were solving, how you approached it, what you designed, the evidence behind it, and what comes next. When people can clearly follow the story, they are far more likely to trust the idea and help move it forward.

Stop overcomplicating your content. You don’t need to make it harder than it is. People want simple, actionable advice they can implement right away. Here’s how to keep it straightforward: •Focus on one idea, not ten. •Break down complex concepts into bite-sized pieces. •Avoid jargon and technical terms. •Use examples to make your point clearer. •Give actionable takeaways that are easy to follow. Your content doesn’t have to be a deep dive to be valuable. The simpler it is, the more people will understand—and act on—it. Overcomplicating content only makes it harder for your audience to engage. So, keep it simple, practical, and easy to digest. That’s how you create content that connects.

I’ve interviewed over 200 technical writers in 15 years. I always ask the same question: “Tell me about a time you pushed back on an SME.” Not “tell me about your best document.” Not “what tools do you know.” Not “describe your writing process.” Why this question? Because 80% of this job is stakeholder management. The writing is the easy part. Great answers sound like this: → “The engineer insisted the procedure was obvious. I asked him to watch a new hire try it. He changed his mind in 4 minutes.” → “The reviewer wanted to add 3 pages of theory. I showed her the user research—operators skip anything over half a page. We compromised on a reference appendix.” → “The project manager wanted to cut the safety warnings to save space. I showed him the liability clause in the EU Machinery Regulation. They stayed.” Red flags: → “I just write what they tell me.” → “I’ve never had a disagreement with an SME.” (This means they’ve never advocated for the user.) → Tool certifications listed before any mention of communication skills. The best technical writers aren’t the best writers. They’re the best negotiators who happen to write well. If your hiring process only tests writing, you’re screening for 20% of the job. #TechnicalWriting #Hiring #CareerAdvice #Documentation

Ever presented rock-solid research only to hear "Thanks, but we're going with our gut on this one"? Securing stakeholder buy-in is rarely about the quality of your work. It's about something deeper. When you’re dealing with a research trust gap, ask yourself 5 questions. 👽 Are you speaking alien to earthlings? When you say jargon like "double diamond" or "information architecture," your stakeholders hear gibberish. Business leaders didn't learn UX in business school—and most never will. Translate everything into business outcomes they understand. Revenue growth. Customer retention. Cost savings. Competitive advantage.  Speak their native language, not yours. ⏰ What keeps them awake at 3am? Behind every skeptical question is a personal fear. That product manager who keeps shooting down your findings? They're terrified of missing their KPIs and losing their bonus. Have honest conversations about what they're personally on the hook for delivering. Then show how your research helps them achieve exactly that. ❓Are you treating assumptions as facts? You might think you know what questions matter to your stakeholders. You're probably wrong. Before starting research, explicitly ask: "What questions do you need answered to make this decision?" Then design your research to answer exactly those questions. ⚒️ Are you dying on the hill of methodological purity? Sometimes you have 8 hours for research instead of 8 weeks. Being dogmatic about "proper" research methods doesn’t always pay off. Focus on outcomes over process. If quick-and-dirty gets reliable insights that drive decisions, embrace it. 🍽️ Are you force-feeding them a seven-course meal when they wanted a snack? Executives need 30-second summaries. Product managers need actionable findings. Junior team members need hands-on learning. Tailor your approach to each one. You can also use my stakeholder persona mapping template here: https://bit.ly/43R7wom What’s the best advice you’ve heard about dealing with skeptical stakeholders?

Why Articulation & Stakeholder Skills Matter More Than Ever for Data Engineers As AI gets smarter, writing code isn’t the differentiator anymore. Explaining your work, influencing decisions, and building trust—that’s what sets great engineers apart. That’s why I follow the 50:50 rule: 💡 50% doing the work. 50% talking about the work. My win this month I focused intentionally on building relationships with stakeholders. Alignment takes time, but trust starts small—one clear explanation, one thoughtful question, one consistent follow-through. The result? Stakeholders now see data engineers as partners, not just executors. That shift in perception is the real win. Why this matters for every technical professional You can design the perfect pipeline or architecture… but without articulation, the value gets lost. Strong communication gives you: • Faster decisions • Fewer misunderstandings • Bigger ownership • More strategic influence How to build this skill (practical + fast): 1. Explain your work in business-first language 2. Summarize your updates clearly and proactively 3. Break complexity into simple layers 4. Invest in micro-trust moments with stakeholders AI can generate code. AI cannot build trust. Your technical skills build solutions. Your articulation turns them into impact.

Stop telling on yourself by trying to use big fancy words and complicated explanations. Using big words to sound smart makes you sound less smart. Sales reps think using complex language makes them look professional. They throw around industry jargon and technical terms to prove they know their stuff. But research shows emails written at a third grade reading level get 36% higher response rates than emails with complex language. Your prospects aren't impressed by your vocabulary. They're scanning your email for 3 to 4 seconds trying to decide if it's worth their time. When they see complicated language, their brain registers it as extra work. Complex language creates barriers. It confuses prospects, makes your message harder to digest, and causes frustration. Clear, simple copy helps prospects quickly grasp your message. Clarity is what drives action. I personally aim to write emails at a fifth grade comprehension level. This isn't talking down to anyone. It means using clear language that's easy to understand, even if someone is skimming on their phone between meetings. Make your message so clear that prospects immediately understand the benefits you're offering and feel confident taking the next step. They respond because you made it easy for them to engage. Simple stands out in sales copywriting. 📌 What's one piece of jargon you need to cut from your outreach?

Your pivot explanation should fit in a tweet. Everything else is justification. I've watched dozens of AI startups navigate strategic shifts. The pattern is unmistakable: those who are able to communicate their pivots with brutal clarity win faster. When you can distill your strategic shift into one clear sentence, you've done the hard work of strategic thinking. The companies that struggle to explain their pivot in simple terms are often the ones whose strategy hasn't fully crystallized. And this is equally true for any new business. I recently advised a founder who spent weeks crafting a 12-page pivot document. Nobody read it. Then we changed it to: "We're focusing on solving the top 3 finance use cases instead of being an all-purpose AI platform." The team rallied because they understood. Customers stayed because the narrative connected to strengths they already trusted. The brevity constraint forced us to: → Clarify exactly what was changing (and importantly, what wasn't) → Connect the new direction to existing capabilities → Eliminate strategic contradictions hiding in complexity → Create a message everyone could repeat consistently Founders often believe complex decisions require complex explanations. The opposite is true. Complexity in communication usually masks strategic uncertainty. Clear communication isn't the packaging of your pivot—it's the sharpening of your strategy. When you can explain your direction with crystal clarity, you've likely chosen a direction worth pursuing. Leadership clarity is fundamentally about the courage to simplify. Just remember — explanation is justification. Run toward your strengths and convictions, instead of making noise to escape your weaknesses. #startups #founders #growth #ai

You are an amazing Engineer... but can you write? I remember studying Technical Writing as one subject in Uni. It was overlooked at the time only later did I realise it’s as important as any technical subject we studied. Because you can be the smartest engineer in the room… but if you can’t write clearly, your work is at risk of being misunderstood, ignored, or misused. Too often, we treat documentation as “boring paperwork.” In reality, it’s one of the strongest forms of risk management we have. Here’s the truth 👇 Most disputes, variations, and project blowouts don’t begin with wrong soil data or poor drainage estimates. They begin with unclear words and missing documentation because decision makers don’t base their decisions on your equations. They act on your written conclusions whether it’s a feasibility study, a concept design report, or a one-page memo. 📑 What are some examples of essential documentations in Engineering? 1- Emails – a well-written email can save hours of meetings. 2- Scope of Work – defines exactly what is included and excluded. 3- Basis of Design – records assumptions, limitations, and methodology. 4- Risk Registers – highlight what could go wrong and how it’s managed. 5- Design Reports & Technical Memos – don’t just show calculations. They justify decisions, explain uncertainties, and provide a defensible trail. 6- RFPs – clear Requests for Proposal avoid vague scope and misunderstandings. 7- Proposals – define exactly what you are (and aren’t) proposing. This protects you from future disputes and scope creep. So how do you strengthen your technical writing skills? ✍️ Read engineering journals and papers to absorb style and clarity. ✍️ When you join a company, read archived reports to familiarise yourself with format, structure, and language. ✍️ Use AI tools to proofread not to write for you, but to ensure your work is grammatically sound and professional. ⚠️ Remember No matter how good your design is, it’s only as good as you document it. Islam Seif - #Engineering #TechnicalWriting

A designer once told me, “This is amazing…but I already committed to a solution.” That’s when it clicked: Research doesn’t drive change. Alignment does. The best researchers I’ve worked with? They’re not just insightful. They’re influential. Here are 6 habits of researchers who consistently get buy-in and how to start using them today: 1. They never say “users were confused” They say: “This issue is costing us 12% of conversions.” ↳ Take one insight you’ve already shared and rewrite it using this format: Problem + Impact + Recommendation Then send it to one stakeholder as a Slack message, not a deck. 2. They don’t deliver research. They facilitate decisions They ask: “What’s the decision this team is stuck on right now?” ↳ Before every project kickoff, ask your PM: “What’s the riskiest assumption behind this decision?” Then shape your study around that. 3. They translate like hell Not “delight,” but “adoption.” Not “friction,” but “drop-off.” ↳ Pick 3 insights from your last study and rewrite them using business terms. Drop them into a meeting and watch who starts paying more attention. 4. They time it perfectly Not a 30-slide deck on a Friday. A one-sentence quote right before a roadmap review. ↳ Look ahead to next week’s big decision-making moment. Pick one insight and share it 24 hours before the meeting. Not during. Not after. 5. They repeat themselves intentionally They plant insights until someone else says it back to them. ↳ Pick one finding you want to stick. Mention it once in Slack, once in a retro, and once in a 1:1 this week. Different formats. Same message. Let it echo. 6. They stop trying to “educate stakeholders” They listen. They co-create. They shift the power dynamic. ↳ Instead of sending research after it’s done, invite a stakeholder to help design one question before it starts. You’ll double your buy-in before you even begin. You don’t need stakeholders to love research. You just need them to feel what it protects them from. If your insights are strong but your impact is quiet, making these into habits is your next step. Which of these habits are you building right now? Or what’s one you’d add to the list?