For an idea to be truly egective, it must be effectivelycommunicated. To achieve this, one mustfirst determine two things:the objective to be accomplished and the audience to be reached

How engineerscan communicate

By improving his communication with management, more effectivelyparticularly his boss, the engineer can gain recogni-tion, a better feeling for how he stands, more interest- rLth m anagersing assignments, and increased pay and advance-ment. He can tackle the physical, intellectual, ex-perience, and psychological barriers to communication Joseph A. Robinsonby applying three basic principles for effective com- Joseph A. Robinson Associatesmunication:wit requires thinking, involves both sendingand receiving, and includes verbal and nonverbaldevices. To apply these principles he should firstthink carefully about his objective and audience, andthen select, simplify, and specify.

Today's engineer must communicate, or perish byinches. And of all his communications, none more directly managers cannot understand they usually will not ap-affect his fame, fortune, and general well-being than his prove-and what they do not approve the engineercommunications with managers, particularly his boss. cannot accomplish.This article summarizes some of the reasons why good Once an engineer has obtained approval of a project,communication with the boss and other managers can he may need the cooperation of others. Clear, logicalpay off, some of the communication barriers the engi- coordination can make a project; misunderstanding canneer encounters, and what he can do to overcome these break it. Moreover, even the finest completed projectbarriers. cannot tell the entire story of an achievement, no matter

how eloquently it speaks for the engineering genius whoWhy bother? conceived, designed, and completed it. If the results of theThe engineer has several good reasons to care about work are presented to management haphazardly, with

how effectively he communicates with managers. jumbled documentation and disorganized recommen-First, the way he organizes and expresses his ideas dations, one cannot expect the recognition he thinks he

directly affects how much he can accomplish and how deserves. Thus, better communication can help pave theeasily others can recognize and properly evaluate his ac- way for solid accomplishments that management cancomplishments. For example, he may need to have man- recognize and appreciate.agement approve a project. A well-presented project Second, because communication includes receiving asmay go through without a hitch, but if it is poorly pre- well as sending, it can help the engineer judge howsented it may die aborning. Even the best problem analy- management feels about his performance and potential.sis, investigation, and solution benefit from a clear, crisp As he improves his ability to listen to and understandpresentation, and anything less invites a cursory turn- managers, he can begin to recognize what they considerdown if management simply doesn't understand. What most important on his job and how they evaluate his per-

IEEE spectrum JUNE 1968

formance. This allows the engineer to concentrate on education and experience to draw on to interpret whathis most important improvement opportunities and so he has to say.earn further recognition of his efforts. This trend contributes to a second important barrier:

Third, as better communication allows one to accom- the language barrier. As each branch of engineeringplish more and to concentrate on better performance, it becomes more specialized it develops its own jargon,also can lead to more interesting assignments. which becomes less intelligible to the uninitiated. ToManagement often does not have-or will not take- communicate successfully with management, the engi-

time to explain a problem over and over. The engineer neer must translate what he has to say into manage-who demonstrates an ability to grasp a problem quickly ment's language, unless unusual circumstances forcefrom management's viewpoint and to propose an management to learn the language of the engineer.approach that management can understand has an ap- As a third barrier growing out of his different back-preciable advantage in the assignments sweepstakes. ground and experience, the engineer often finds someThe way a man communicates says much about the way important differences between his and management'she thinks, and the interesting assignments go to the think- formal objectives, both job and personal. Managementing engineer. wants to get the job done; the engineer cares more about

Finally, the ability to communicate effectively can how he does it. He may strain for perfection, set un-directly affect one's pay and advancement. It influences realistic or uneconomic standards, or choose to ignorethe kinds of assignments the engineer receives, how well subjective considerations important to management inhe can accomplish them, and the recogniton he is ac- the overall picture. As a person, he may wrestle with dualcorded. When management assesses what he contributes loyalty to his professional standards and his career,to the organization, they consider what they know of as opposed to management's pragmatic demands for thehis accomplishments. If he has failed to communicate pressing present.effectively, they may be aware of only a fraction of what Better communication alone cannot remove thesehe has done-and reward him accordingly. intellectual and experience barriers, but it can help to

Despite all the various reasons why he should want highlight them and bring them out into the open.to communicate effectively, the engineer still sometimes Perhaps the most devastating barriers to communica-falls short. By examining some of the barriers he faces tion with management exist within the conscious andwe can identify ways in which he can overcome them and subconscious mind of the engineer himself.thus improve his effectiveness. Some barriers grow out of long-established status

relationships within the organization. Traditionally, toBarriers to effective communication continue to advance and gain status in a company theThe engineer faces some common barriers-and some engineer eventually had to enter management ranks.

special ones-in communicating with managers, particu- Thus management retained for itself the marks of higherlarly with his boss. These include obvious physical bar- status-larger offices, company cars, executive diningriers, some less-obvious intellectual and experience rooms-as well as the top salaries. Only recently havebarriers, and many (often-ignored) psychological bar- more progressive companies tried to recognize and awardriers. To surmount these barriers, he must first recog- equal status to the man who prefers to remain an engi-nize and understand them. neer-contributor rather than move into management.

Engineers, and others, easily identify two obvious Generally speaking, however, the engineer continues tophysical barriers to effective communication with man- feel some important differences (real or imagined) inagement-time pressures and separate, remote locations. status between himself and management. You have onlyMany managers consider time their most limited re- to sit in an office larger than your own, be ushered in and

source, and leave little of it uncommitted on their sched- seated by a secretary when you have none, and engage inules. As a result, they may require advance appointments a conversation interrupted by two or three long-distanceand set time limits for oral communications, or demand calls to understand why.condensed extracts of written ones. A second and more obvious psychological barrier

Separate, remote locations can compound the effect relates to personalities. Granted many exceptions onthat limited time availability has on the manager's both sides, the engineer often feels himself less skilledaccessibility. Although modern communication hardware in using words, and displays less self-confidence than thedoes much to minimize distance as a barrier, it still manager in conversational give and take. Where we feelcannot substitute for the opportunity to step next door bested we often withdraw with some kind of rationaliza-or across the hall. tion, and many an engineer has deprecated "smooth

In communicating with managers the engineer also talk" when he might better have tried some himself.faces formidable barriers resulting from his different Solid thought need not always be clothed in denseintellectual development and life experience. His educa- language.tion, background, and job experience often differ signifi- Different personal value systems and attitudes providecantly from those of a manager, particularly as manage- a third psychological barrier to effective communicationment becomes more and more a separate profession with with management. This relates to, but goes deeper than,its own academic discipline and professional body of the differentjobandpersonal objectives mentioned earlier.knowledge. Once upon a time, organizations that We communicate most effectively with those who sharedepended on engineering for their existence-electrical our personal values, and instinctively distrust those whomanufacturing, for example-largely used engineers to do not. The engineer who values precision and objec-fill their management ranks. This no longer holds true to tivity will have difficulty understanding or making him-the same degree, and the engineer cannot count on man- self understood by the manager who) simply wants theagement to have comparable, if dimly remembered, job done and sees no point in any "unnecessary" niceties.

48 IEEE spectrum JUNE 1968

The traditional struggle to get the engineer to release a ideas and information. But until the sender has the ideadesign for production as long as he sees any possible or information clear in his own mind, he cannot hoperefinements illustrates the point. to make it clear in the mind of the receiver, any more

If the engineer feels it "right" to rely only on facts, than a blurred photographic negative can produce afigures, and statistics as he sees them, he cannot help but sharp print.resent management's feeling something different. When As we will see later, the communicator must thinkwe start debating "right" and "wrong" on subjective about many things that influence the complex process ofmatters we build barriers, and communication soon recreating his idea accurately in the mind of another;breaks down. but think he must, if he wants to have any control overBy far the most inhibiting psychological barrier to what happens at the other end of the communication

communication with management comes from the channel.boss's influence on the engineer's pay, promotion, and A two-part, two-way process. As a second principle,even continued employment. Although in our present the communication process includes two parts, sendingeconomy engineers move relatively easily from job to and receiving, and to be most effective we should tryjob, this barrier still exists in many minds, consciously to make it a two-way process as well. When we thinkor subconsciously. of exchanging ideas we immediately recognize that weWhen a man influences one's income or determines must have a receiver as well as a sender. We have not

what kind and how much work he can do, communica- communicated until we have to some degree affectedtions with him assume special importance. This can pre- our receiver-hopefully, in the way we desire.sent a double-edged dilemma. As an example, we hesitate This sending-receiving, two-part nature of the com-to bring bad news to the boss because, justifiably or not, munication process may remind some engineers of New-he may react against us personally. However, if we do not ton's elementary law of action-reaction. Unfortunately,keep him well informed, he may make bad decisions based unless we design and deliver our message with carefulon incomplete data, which he then holds against us. regard for what happens at the other end, our action

Understanding the boss's interest in having the bad may create as a reaction nothing more than a yawn.news with the good can help minimize that one part of Although we can never know positively and completelythe psychological barrier. But we might as well recognize what happened at the other end of our communicationthat this and all other communication with the boss channel, if we want to make the best possible estimate oftake place against a backdrop of job security and pay. how we were received we must add one more element toThey therefore demand careful thought and attention our sender-receiver model-a "feedback" channel.to sound principles if we want to communicate most Otherwise, we have no way of sensing and measuringeffectively. our receiver's reaction and therefore our effectiveness

In the remainder of this article three basic principles for in accomplishing our communication objective.effective communication are developed and ways are Feedback serves other useful purposes for both sendersuggested in which one can begin to use them immedi- and receiver, but none more important than this one ofately, not only to overcome the barriers listed above but testing understanding. To use it most effectively, wein all communications. must realize we can test understanding at several levels

of effectiveness.Overcoming the barriers At the negative or neutral level we can pause only

Select-simplify-specify. The engineer who under- when interrupted, or pause momentarily and wait thestands and uses this three-part prescription can improve briefest moment for a question. For a minimum testalmost overnight his ability to communicate with others. we can ask the familiar "do you understand ?" and acceptAs an engineer you have utilized much the same approach a nod of the head. Too often this means only that thein problem solving. To transfer it to the allegedly frus- receiver prefers not to admit he doesn't understand.trating art of communication requires only that you For a deeper probe we might ask the receiver to repeatrecognize a new set of variables. With practice you can our message. Here we do well to remember that a tapethen begin to break through the communication barriers recorder can give back our words more faithfully thanand use your technical knowledge and ability more effec- any human receiver-with absolutely no understanding.tively in all situations. As a more effective approach, and probably the leastHow can you do this? By understanding and using we should try, we can require the receiver to translate

every day the three basic principles of effective communi- and give back the message in his own words. Beyond this,cation that stand behind this deceptively simple pre- testing understanding becomes more complicated. Ifscription. These principles, along with two key questions, we try to transmit knowledge we can ask him to outlinecan help you take the first big step toward becoming a how our message relates to or contrasts with what hemore effective communicator. has known before. If we instruct, we can ask how he will

First, you must think. Clear communication starts with carry out our instructions, or what action he will take.clear thinking. Too many communications fail because And if we try to persuade-often the goal in communicat-the sender fails to think them through before he starts to ing with managers-we can count any observable changetry to communicate. in attitude or behavior as a sure sign of success.No competent engineer would consider driving a pile When we receive feedback that raises a question in our

or winding a coil until he had thought through at least minds about how well the receiver understood our mes-the first phase of his project, and yet many communica- sage we have an advantage over the sender who neglectstions show little or no planning; they wander and to build in a feedback channel, or who ignores what hemeander, start too soon, and go on too long. We can does receive. As a result of feedback we can considerthink of communication as the process of exchanging ways to reinforce our message and we often can take

Robinson-How engineers can communicate more effectively with managers 49

advantage of several opportunities to accomplish our 1. Checklist: communicating with managersobjective.To emphasize another value of an open feedback 1. Objective

channel, we can recall a classic demonstration that con- What value to him-help him decide or act, now or later?trasts one-way and two-way communication. In one How much background must I include?version, a sender stands before a group, separated How much detail does he need?visuallyfrom them by portable blackboard or easel What precision does he require?visually from them by a portable blackboard or easel Can I condense the past, highlight only changes?

on which only he can see a random pattern of four to How important to stress trends versus absolutes?eight identical touching rectangles. He describes this (b) To persuade?

pattern orally tothgou,hoinWhat value to him-save him time, effort, uncertainty, re-pattern orally to the group, who individually reproduce sources?it as best they can. During this one-way communication What possible objections, and how can we meet them?they may not communicate with the sender. What specific steps to start desired action?When the sender feels satisfied that he has described (c) To present myself, my accomplishments, my potential?What value to him-how can he use me better, now or later?

the first pattern so all can reproduce it, he turns to a sec- What have I accomplished, specifically?ond, different pattern of the same number of rectangles. How did I do it? (briefly)This time the group has two-way communication, and Possible future contributions?can feed back to the sender. They can stop him any time, 2- Audience

(a) The manask him to clarify, repeat, or even start over. He continues Educationuntil they agree they have reproduced the pattern to their Backgroundown satisfaction. Experience

Language, other capabilitiesThe results of the demonstration are predictable. Personal characteristics-prejudices, commitments, values

When you open the feedback channel the group takes (b) His jobmore time than was used without it, but they have a Primary3jbinterests,responsibilities?higher score of correctly completed patterns. More What does he need from me?

What previous knowledge, relationship to my Job or project?sophisticated research generally confirms that one-way How do others measure his performance?communication takes less time than two-way, but sacri- His formal and informal role in the organization?fices some accuracy. And if we look at communication (c) Circumstances surrounding the communicationOur personal, professional relationshipsefficiency-information accurately received and inter- Best medium, formatpreted per unit of time-we will often find the two-way Best time, placemode more efficient.One other point shows up on this demonstration. When

you ask the sender how he felt about the two modes hewill often say that he felt fine the first time, but uncomfort- used, neatness, size and style of type (or handwriting),able, criticized, and challenged by the group the second and layout on the page. Nonverbal cues can also taketime (when they could talk back). The group, on the even more subtle form. Some managers, for example,other hand, will use words such as "frustrated" and refuse to read any form letter that comes across their"confused" in describing the one-way mode, and "con- desks. Many companies, aware of this, spend literallyfident," "satisfied," or "at ease" for the other. tens of thousands of dollars to'have form letters individ-Thus, in communicating messages where your ually typed by machine so that when the reader runs his

audience's attitude may influence what they hear, under- finger suspiciously over the letter's surface the slightstand, and accept, you can almost certainly improve indentations made by the typewriter will reassure himyour effectiveness by building in a channel that allows that he has an original letter. This, they think, improvesand encourages feedback. Any engineer who has listened the chances that he will read at least the first paragraphto an author read a technical paper to a restless audience before consigning the letter to the wastebasket.without once looking up knows what happens when the Nonverbal signals can effectively block or contradictmeeting finally opens for discussion. Although two-way the meaning we want to convey. Perhaps you have hadcommunication may take more time, it generally im- the experience of walking into the boss's office to ask aproves efficiency and almost always improves receiver question just after his secretary left his correspondenceattitude toward the message. for him to sign. With a wave of his pen he beckons you

Verbal and nonverbal communication. The many dif- to a chair, saying, "Go right ahead-I'll listen while Iferent ways we exchange information and ideas make sign these few letters." If you have an exceptional rela-communication both verbal and nonverbal. "Verbal," tionship with your boss you may know from experiencein the strict sense, includes all the ways we use words and that he can indeed give you full attention under theserelated symbols, whether spoken or written, as contrasted circumstances. But- in most cases you cannot help feelingwith "oral," which means spoken only. that he might have said more accurately something like,The words we use convey only part of the meaning our "Go ahead and talk, but what you have to say can't

receiver finds in our message. We have all heard that matter enough for me to delay signing these letters."''actions speak louder than words," perhaps without Thus you can communicate at your full effectivenessrealizing how much nonverbal communication influences only if you watch carefully to see that your actions rein-our total message. But tone of voice, emphasis, facial forceor at least do not contradict-your words.expression, posture, even silence, convey meaning, As a receiver you can also improve your effectivenesssometimes more than we intend, by recognizing these verbal and nonverbal aspects of theOur written communications convey meaning non- messages you receive. Knowing that the nonverbal

verbally also. We observe and interpret almost auto- cues may have slipped in without the sender's realizing it,matically such obvious physical cues as the paper and ink you can allow for any seeming contradictions, concen-

50 IEEE spectrum JUNE 1968

trate on the words he uses, and try to interpret the mean- What aludience do I have? As your other equally im-ing he intends to convey. In the final analysis you will portant guide, you need to know as much as possibleadd in the nonverbals also and judge the entire message, about your audience (one person or more) and the cir-but unless you deliberately put aside some possibly mis- cumstances that will surround your communication.leading nonverbal cues you may find you have "turned No communication takes place until the audienceoff" the sender before you have given him a fair hearing, receives and understands the message, so ignoring orand you may have missed an important message. incorrectly evaluating the audience and its character-

Here, then, you have three basic principles for effective istics can stop the process cold.communication: it starts with clear thinking, requires The checklist given in Table I indicates some of theboth sending and receiving (with feedback where possible), kinds of questions with which you can start to analyzeand includes verbal and nonverbal message elements. your audience. Obviously, you will not find, nor need,Now let us apply these principles to develop two key answers for all questions for every audience, but invest-questions with which you can tackle any communication ment of a few minutes or hours (depending on yoursituation. communication's importance) in analyzing your audienceTwo key questions. In a world in which machines print will repay you many times over.

thousands of lines per minute and the very air we breathe Even when you repeatedly communicate with thevibrates with hundreds of simultaneous never-ending same man you need to take stock from time to time.messages, communication threatens to drown us all. Men change, circumstances change, and your objectivesAs we think about how we can convey meaning amid may change enough to dictate a different weighting of hisall this noise, we conclude that we must select and con- characteristics, which will in turn influence the content ofcentrate on a few key ideas if we want them to stand out your message.by contrast.When we feel we have something important to com- Becoming a more effective communicator

municate we usually have much we could say. For You can begin to communicate more effectively withexample, let us take a report on a meeting we attended. managers and others by starting to use these principlesWe could describe at great length how we traveled and immediately in many different communication situations.arrived; the weather outside, the facilities inside; what Get into the habit of using a checklist, which will startthe speaker wore, and how he sat while waiting for the you thinking about your objective and your audience.chairman to introduce him; and even whether the pattern As soon as you have them well in mind, start reviewingof the carpet on the floor ran parallel or diagonal to the material you have and getting additional material youwalls of the room. Or we could ignore such items and think you might need; you can always discard anythingexplore exhaustively every nuance of the text and foot- you decide not to use. Now apply the three-part pre-notes on every page of all published papers. scription mentioned earlier.Which communication better serves our purpose? We Select. Remember, your receiver will understand and

cannot know until we have thought about our purpose, retain most if you concentrate on no more than threebut in the majority of cases neither of these two ex- to five major points. Rank your points in the order intremes serves us well. Why? Because we measure com- which they contribute to accomplishing your objectivemunication effectiveness not by how much we present, and chop them off from the bottom. Incidentally, youbut by how much our receiver absorbs and takes away. need not use them in your communication in their order

In most instances we increase the probability that he of importance.will understand and retain our message if we limit dras- Simplify. Here you apply the second principle, andtically the total number of key ideas we present at any simplify to suit your receiver's language and other capa-one time. Those who study the process feel we should bilities, always bearing in mind his interests, his attitudes,set the maximum at about three to five key ideas; be- his needs. Watch technical jargon, and don't overwhelmyond that we reach diminishing returns. This demands him. Most managers care more about conclusions anddiscipline. When you have invested time, effort, and recommendations than about details of how you solvedthought in accumulating information and ideas you the problem, so give him only what he needs.naturally want to use them. But if you really care about Specify. This means using relevant, concrete evidencehow well you communicate you will ruthlessly test each and examples that your receiver can understand and re-item, as well as your entire communication, against two late to his own experience. It does not mean loadingkey questions. your communication with raw or processed data you

What objective do I have? As your first task you must needed for your problem solving. Give him what hedetermine your objective. You may want to inform, you needs to evaluate your message, nothing more.may want to persuade, you may want simply to demon- In conclusion, once you have launched your communi-strate your accomplishments and potential, or you may cation, solicit, accept, and use constructive feedback sowant to do a dozen other things. However, until you can you can learn from your experience. Try not to take it as aanswer this question clearly and succinctly, you cannot personal criticism and don't argue or you will shut it off.begin to select intelligently from the material you have Above all, observe constantly the many communica-available. tion processes going on around you, and learn by ob-Onlywhenyou have determined your objective can you serving others as they apply (or violate) these basic

begin to sift and sort by using the related question, principles. The way we communicate probably reveals"How does thiis help me accomplish my objective?" us more intimately than any other act; and as you im-Many communications founder on the shoals of shallow prove your ability to express and share your ideas withthinking about the communicator's objective, one of the others you will find you have much more of value totwin guides essential to success. reveal.

Robinson-How engineers can communicate more effectively with managers 51