5 ms·

I'm mildly confused. Your post here seems fine and quit readable. How do you arrive at the conclusion, that you're lacking in written communication skills? (so

by kharak 8y ago

I'm mildly confused. Your post here seems fine and quit readable. How do you arrive at the conclusion, that you're lacking in written communication skills? (sorry for question instead of tips)

NoNotTheDuo 8y ago
May be evidence that the additional training/work s/he's put in is paying off. I agree that the post does not show a lack of written communication skills.
- mredwarddit 8y ago
  It's like the people who say, English isn't my first language and then proceed to type a well written essay - stop showing off!
dagurp 8y ago
Maybe it took a long time to write that post. That's what I struggle with anyway.
- specialist 8y ago
  "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." -- Blaise Pascal I encourage you to not criticize yourself too harshly.
pricees 8y ago
I reread it a few times. I reread it aloud. This is a new discipline.
scarecrowbob 8y ago
In a sense, your confusion here -is- the problem: "conveying complex subject matter in a succinct way for folks lacking detailed domain knowledge." FWIW, I didn't have the same confusion about the post, so I don't know how lacking the author is in this specific setting. But I have had the same general struggle. I have an MA in English/rhetoric and am a software dev, and even with that nexus of training it has been a lot of work to get better at communicating... the struggle to communicate technical issues to non technical people is a lifelong journey with a complex path. It's just hard. So here's my tip: smaller sentences. More paragraphs. Simpler language. And IME we do best when we develop a continual awareness that although communication is difficult, it is possible.
- aeorgnoieang 8y ago
  > So here's my tip: > > smaller sentences. More paragraphs. Simpler language. I've also found thinking about sensual clues to be helpful, e.g. what would the user/customer/whatever see (or hear or feel) at this point? What (exact) text would they reasonably anchor on based on everything they might see? I also try to visually distinguish different types of info, e.g. exact text of some kind of UI element, code. Another really helpful tip is to confirm that the user/customer/whatever sees/hears/feels some (exact) specific thing at a specific { step / point in space-time }. If they don't provide the (near) exact response I expect, I try to notice my confusion and debug right then and there until my confusion is resolved.
  - scarecrowbob 8y ago
    This is useful advice. If you abstract it, the general form is something like "work with concepts that your audience is already familiar with", which is good advice for any communication. And, similarly, be on the look out for any data that says your communication has started to go awry.
Fnoord 8y ago
Sample size is one, and they might've discussed this before. Someone with good written communication skills can write effectively, without too much details, quickly on the fly. The same holds true for verbal. I believe there's two important key points: confidence (but not overconfidence) and empathy/sympathy. Putting yourself in the other person's shoe and figuring what they need to hear ie. not what you want to express. The latter is secondary! Sure, you can practice it, but only so much. I have autism, and I'm utter shit at this (even in my native language). I've been practicing it pretty much all my life (I remember having issues with it at elementary school). I'm terrible with being to the point and keeping communication short. And if it is short, its usually too rude.

by kharak 8y ago

I'm mildly confused. Your post here seems fine and quit readable. How do you arrive at the conclusion, that you're lacking in written communication skills? (sorry for question instead of tips)

NoNotTheDuo 8y ago

May be evidence that the additional training/work s/he's put in is paying off. I agree that the post does not show a lack of written communication skills.

mredwarddit 8y ago
It's like the people who say, English isn't my first language and then proceed to type a well written essay - stop showing off!

dagurp 8y ago

Maybe it took a long time to write that post. That's what I struggle with anyway.

specialist 8y ago
"I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." -- Blaise Pascal I encourage you to not criticize yourself too harshly.

pricees 8y ago

I reread it a few times. I reread it aloud. This is a new discipline.

scarecrowbob 8y ago

In a sense, your confusion here -is- the problem: "conveying complex subject matter in a succinct way for folks lacking detailed domain knowledge." FWIW, I didn't have the same confusion about the post, so I don't know how lacking the author is in this specific setting. But I have had the same general struggle. I have an MA in English/rhetoric and am a software dev, and even with that nexus of training it has been a lot of work to get better at communicating... the struggle to communicate technical issues to non technical people is a lifelong journey with a complex path. It's just hard. So here's my tip: smaller sentences. More paragraphs. Simpler language. And IME we do best when we develop a continual awareness that although communication is difficult, it is possible.

aeorgnoieang 8y ago
> So here's my tip: > > smaller sentences. More paragraphs. Simpler language. I've also found thinking about sensual clues to be helpful, e.g. what would the user/customer/whatever see (or hear or feel) at this point? What (exact) text would they reasonably anchor on based on everything they might see? I also try to visually distinguish different types of info, e.g. exact text of some kind of UI element, code. Another really helpful tip is to confirm that the user/customer/whatever sees/hears/feels some (exact) specific thing at a specific { step / point in space-time }. If they don't provide the (near) exact response I expect, I try to notice my confusion and debug right then and there until my confusion is resolved.
- scarecrowbob 8y ago
  This is useful advice. If you abstract it, the general form is something like "work with concepts that your audience is already familiar with", which is good advice for any communication. And, similarly, be on the look out for any data that says your communication has started to go awry.

Fnoord 8y ago

Sample size is one, and they might've discussed this before. Someone with good written communication skills can write effectively, without too much details, quickly on the fly. The same holds true for verbal. I believe there's two important key points: confidence (but not overconfidence) and empathy/sympathy. Putting yourself in the other person's shoe and figuring what they need to hear ie. not what you want to express. The latter is secondary! Sure, you can practice it, but only so much. I have autism, and I'm utter shit at this (even in my native language). I've been practicing it pretty much all my life (I remember having issues with it at elementary school). I'm terrible with being to the point and keeping communication short. And if it is short, its usually too rude.