TASK 3: THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR ENGINEERS

 “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)


Marybeth Miceli


What Marybeth Miceli said in her quote refers to the the general miscommunication of engineers due to their lack of ability to translate technical terms and ideas to the common people that do not have the expertise. This can result in the misjudgment of certain individual's abilities as competent as they can be to be less so. The inefficient or lack thereof of communication skills causes many engineers to be undervalued and not optimally utilized in various aspects of their work.

How I interpret this is that there is a severe lack and need to develop communication skills for engineers, proficiency in communications can help to raise the views on engineering in the long run. What engineers do normally are hidden from the public as most of the work done is not easily accessible by the common populace, this leads to the unfamiliarity with regards to what engineers are capable of and thus the undervaluing of them.


Comments

  1. Yen JeeJanuary 5, 2023 at 7:14 AM

    Hi Merrick, thank you for sharing your paraphrase and insights about the quote. I found your opinions about the quote to be very clear and interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. HanKokJanuary 5, 2023 at 9:17 PM

    Hi Merrick, your point of view is quite intriguing. Having pointed out that engineers' work scope is usually hidden from public has definitely put a new thought in my mind on how the Mass Rapid Transit of Singapore is built.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 9, 2023 at 5:42 PM

    Hi Merrick, I find your opinion on this matter to be very interesting. Thank you for sharing your insights and paraphrase regarding this subject. I agree that the common people are unable to fully appreciate engineers’ work due to their lack of ability to understand the technical terms. - Shahrul

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2023 at 2:48 AM

    Thank you Merrick! I strongly agree with your viewpoint. Engineers do need solid communication skills to bring clarity and visibility to the important contributions the provide to society. Having the ability to summary and clarify what misconceptions the general public has about engineering would do well in providing accurate valuation to the good work done by engineers.

    -Anthony

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEEK 2: FORMAL INTRODUCTORY LETTER

  Dear Professor Blackstone, My name is Merrick Soon Ng, and I am writing to you today to introduce myself as a student in your communication class. I graduated junior college in Yishun Innova Junior College with an A-level certificate and managed to get into the engineering course offered by SIT  after National Service(NS). My interest in Engineering was actually sparked from my various experiences in NS, in which I served as a firefighter. Being a firefighter in Singapore has allowed me exposure to most events that the common populace would not have access to. This includes learning various topics that are relevant to the job, like what makes the structural integrity of a building fail in case of a fire, or perhaps the various weak points in a certain structure that we can target to make our lives easier. Throughout these experiences, I had gained a deeper understanding of the capabilities of engineering which was what spurred me on to apply for the course. A communication s...
Read more

Summary Reader Response SolarNova Programme Draft 1

   This article written by the HDB aims to summarise what the SolarNova Programme is about as well as what it has achieved in recent years in which the seventh solar leasing tender has been called. HDB has steadily deployed tenders through the years and significantly gained economically and to installed solar panels cheaper. HDB Green Town programme has been working towards sustainable living by adding greenery as well as reduce energy consumption by using solar energy. HDB being the biggest promoter of solar panels is pressured by the public sector to install more solar panels. This will assist in reducing carbon emissions and reducing effects of climate change. According to Mr Tan Meng Dui(2022) in the 14 years that HDB has been operating there are now 10000 flats with solar panels. Initially, solar energy was used for everyday facilities in HDB. HDB can reach a self-sufficient state in common areas. It has been mandatory to install smart electrical sub-meters since the sixt...
Read more