The Importance of Communication Skills for Engineers

 

“Archimedes Thoughtful” by Domenico Fetti, 1620.

“I contend that we (engineers) are undervalued because of our widespread inability to explain

what we do to the general public (and why it is so important). It is one of the hardest goals to

accomplish, to be able to boil down difficult concepts into a short and easily understood

presentation or elevator pitch.”

Marybeth Miceli, President, Miceli Infrastructure Consulting, USA (2011)

Unlike other professions, Engineers are awfully underappreciated. As an Engineer to be, I label our job scope to be broad, but dense. Our work does not reflect an average joe's daily life, and it is rude to demand an awarding yet comprehensible summary for our labor. To clap hands, it is necessary to have a 100% effort by Engineers to convey, and a 101% of enthusiasm by the public to perceive.