Download Communication skills for PDD engineers

Communication skills
for engineering project teams
Steve Dyson
www.sdc-language.com
Steve Dyson
 Technical communicator
and translator
to French high-technology companies:



2
space (CNES, Alcatel, etc.)
satellite-based imagery and remote sensing (Spot
Image, CNES, Istar, etc.)
naval defence (DCN, Thales, Armaris, etc.).
 Consultant on major technical documentation
and translation projects for:


3
French space agency CNES
French naval prime contractor DCN.
Outline
1. Communication in engineering projects
 Communications-critical phases
2. Technical communication: Basic concepts
 Sender/receiver model
 Audience-centred communication
 Tips (writing, PowerPoint, etc.)
3. Communication failures + responses
4. Localization & catalogues
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Communication in
engineering projects
Communications challenges faced
by engineering teams
Two main types of comms challenges:
 Presentations to team members and others with
engineering backgrounds.
 Presentations to non-engineers.
Engineer/presenter typically aims to:
 "Sell" the project or key concepts.
 Provide engineering input for high-level
presentations by senior project managers
to clients, investors, authorities, etc.
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First critical steps
• Assess the importance of each presentation or
•
writing task
Tailor response to the challenge:
–
The more critical the task,
the more effective the document or presentation
should be,
and the bigger the communication effort.
A major effort will involve applying the
lessons learned today and more …
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Technical communication:
Basic concepts
Technical communication:
Basic concepts:
 Sender/receiver model
 Audience-centred communication
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Basic sender/receiver
communication model
Message encoding/decoding
sender
feelings,
experience,
history,
sends information
receiver
experience,
feelings,
history,
expectations,
fears
expectations,
fears
Presentation skills
–
Body language
Posture, eyes, etc.:
–
Voice
Tone, inflection, etc.:
–
–
55%
Content:
Language skills & accent
38%
7%
Not included in this study.
–
13
Study by Prof. Albert Mehrabian, University of Ca.,
STC "Technical Communication", Nov. 2000, p605
Audience
Communication is easiest between:
• people with similar backgrounds and training
• people who are used to working together.
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Audience
It is more difficult:
• between departments (design, marketing, etc.)
• between people with different backgrounds,
languages, etc.
• for multidisciplinary, multi-department and
engineering project teams.
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Audience-centred communication
• Focus on what your audience wants to know
•
•
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and questions they want answered,
_not_ what you want to tell them.
Tell them what you're going to say, say it
(no more than three main points), then tell
them what you've just said.
Use rhetorical devices, including parallel
structures and repetition.
Reader-centred writing
• Focus on what readers want to know
•
•
and questions they want answered,
_not_ what you want to tell them.
Provide navigation devices.
Consider "Information Mapping":
–
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courses now available in Portugal.
Focus on:
–
–
–
–
–
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Readers’ information needs
Readers’ technical knowledge
Readers’ language skills
Readers’ attitudes
The time they are likely to spend reading your
document.
Unlearning …
Unlearning … things you thought you knew
and others you learnt at school/university.
Reader-centred writing is radically different from:
• explaining to teachers, who already know
• writing at least X pages
• showing that you know how to use
sophisticated language
• avoiding (at all cost) repetition of words.
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Answer readers’ likely questions
• Start by playing devil’s advocate:
–
–
–
–
–
Why should I read this?
Where does this information come from?
Which are the most important parts?
What am I expected to do next?
What does the competition have to say?
• What details or facts are your readers hoping
to learn?
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Drafting tips
Making lists
Lists are:
–
–
shorter than running text
easier to write and understand,
especially if you use parallel structure.
Use parallel structure, i.e., begin with:
–
–
–
verb (infinitive or conjugated; imperative, other)
gerund
noun (less powerful).
(See also : saywhatyoumean.com/html/readingroom21.html)
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Keep It Short and Simple (KISS)
• Aim for an average sentence length of 17-21
words
But vary the pattern:
medium, long, short, short, medium,
short, long, medium, short, medium
• Maximum: 30 words, except in lists
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KISS
• Remove unnecessary prepositions
–
in the region of --> about
–
as a means to --> to
• Remove other unnecessary words
–
–
–
–
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complete monopoly
rectangular in shape
. . . the dusting problem . . .
these instruments have a marked tendency to drift
KISS: short, simple words
• Prefer Anglo-Saxon to Latinate words:
–
–
–
–
–
–
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accelerate
fabricate
frequently
principal
utilize
should it prove
to be the case that
-->
-->
-->
-->
-->
speed up
make
often
main
use
-->
if
KISS: Action in verbs
• Put the action into a verb
–
we made an application --> we applied
–
it provides a summary of --> it summarizes
. . . the addition of talc is done in two steps
--> Talc is added in two steps
We have a lot of knowledge of . . .
--> We know a lot about . . .
–
–
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KISS: Examples
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–
Commence inspection of the facility upon
completion of the final stage -->
Inspect the building after the final stage
–
A reduction in the quantity of the data by a factor of
two results in a corresponding enhancement of the
capabilities of the system -->
Halving the amount of data makes the program
run twice as fast
• In recent years the traditional brick sector has
adopted new technologies that have resulted in
higher productivity levels and are better able to
meet the requirements of modern architecture
in terms of product quality and diversity.
--> In the traditional brick sector, new
technologies have increased productivity,
product quality and architectural variety.
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Ladder of abstraction
• Anglo-Saxons often prefer words low on the
•
ladder of abstraction
Latins often prefer words higher up the ladder.
Resources
Hardware
Microcomputers
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Software
Computers
……
Workstations
……
……
……
Writing PowerPoint slides
Steps and tips
1. Select a plain, easy-to-read template
2. Go to Options/Edit:
Deselect "Auto-fit text to text placeholders"
3. Consider using Word in Outline mode,
then importing Word Outline into PPT
4. Follow advice of Office Assistant
5. Apply 6x6 rule: 6 lines, 6 words each
6. Use bulleted points with parallel construction.
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PowerPoint: Limitations
Be aware, however, that PowerPoint also has
severe limitations.
As Edward Tufte says:
"The problem with bullet points is that they can only
represent the simplest relationships between things.
They're good for making laundry lists or describing
step-by-step procedures. The problem is that
information is usually much more complex."
More at: saywhatyoumean.com/html/readingroom25.html
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Communications failures
and responses
Communications failures
• Who's responsible?
–
–
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Sender:
Virtually every time
Receiver:
Hardly ever!!
... and even if he/she is responsible,
what point would there be to saying so?
Responses to failure:
Review presentation with:
• carefully selected member of audience
• someone from outside your organization
• someone unfamiliar with the subject.
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Review resources and strategies:
• Choose a different presenter
• Call in an outside specialist
• Learn how to speak better in public
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Repeated challenges
Team facing repeated communication
challenges should consider:
• developing standard procedures
possibly even standard forms, templates, etc.
• studying how others handle these challenges:
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–
internet searches
–
external consultants
Is the problem cross-cultural?
Did communication failure involve:
• more than one nationality?
• different cultural or sociocultural groups?
• several corporate cultures?
If so, research cross-cultural communication
issues or call in a specialist.
Jody Jakob ([email protected]) is one such
specialist based in Portugal.
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Cultural differences
Culture: What is it?
• “The collective programming of the mind which
distinguishes the members of one group or
category from those of another.”
–
Geert Hofstede
• “A learned, shared, compelling, interrelated set
of symbols whose meanings provide a set of
orientations for members of society.”
–
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Terpstra & David
Characteristics:
What all have in common
All cultural traits are:
 Prescriptive, i.e. they define what a particular
group considers to be acceptable
 Learned, not genetic
 Dynamic: Interactive relationship between
behaviour and culture
 Subjective: Meanings vary by culture
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Cultural differences _do_ exist!
Cultural studies and their impact on good
business are also increasingly popular,
witness these TV advertisements by angloAsian banking group HSBC.
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Geert Hofstede's model
1. Power distance
2. Individualism vs.
3.
4.
5.
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collectivism
Femininity vs.
masculinity
Uncertainty avoidance
Long-term vs.
short-term orientation
Power distance
The extent to which the less powerful members
of an organization (in a given culture) expect
and accept that power is distributed unequally.
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Individualism vs. collectivism
Individualism = degree to which individuals are
integrated into groups.
• An individualistic society has loose ties
between individuals, i.e. everyone is expected
to look after him/herself and his/her family.
• Collectivistic society has in-groups (with
strong, cohesive ties between individuals from
birth) which protect their members in exchange
for unquestioning loyalty.
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Masculinity vs. femininity
• Masculinity = assertiveness
• Femininity = caring
–
Masculinity/femininity refers to the distribution of
roles between the genders, a fundamental issue for
any society.
• Women in 'feminine' countries have about the same
modest, caring values as the men.
• Women in 'masculine' countries are somewhat assertive
and competitive, but not as much as the men (hence a gap
between men's values and women's values).
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Uncertainty avoidance
Uncertainty avoidance deals with a society's
tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it
ultimately refers to man's search for Truth.
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Long- vs. short-term orientation
• Deals with Virtue regardless of Truth.
• Values associated with long-term orientation
•
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are thrift and perseverance
Values associated with short-term orientation
are respect for tradition, fulfilling social
obligations, and protecting one's 'face'.
Low- vs. high-context cultures


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Individualism/collectivism is related to
Edward T. Hall’s idea of
low- and high-context cultures:
Individualist cultures tend to be low-context
Collectivist cultures tend to be high-context.
• Low-context communication:
the mass of information is explicit.
• High-context communication:
little has to be said or written because most of
the information is in the physical environment
or within the person.
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Examples of impact on writing
 More formal style expected in high power


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distance cultures
More explicit information expected in lowcontext, individualist cultures
Inductive + deductive mix often suitable in low
power distance, individualist cultures.
"Localization" problem
(Internet catalogues, etc.)
Terminology for web sites
Moulinex calls it ...
presse-agrumes (FR)
citrus press (EN)
Zitruspresse (DE)
citruspers (NL)
spremiagrumi (IT)
citruspressere (DA)
exprimidor (ES)
espremedor de citrinos (PT)
sitruspressen (NO)
citruspress (SV)
sitruspusertimen (FI)
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Search statistics (English)
AltaVista normal mode (10/04/01):
• lemon squeezer:
• orange juicer:
• citrus press:
• orange squeezer:
AltaVista advanced mode (10/04/01):
• "orange squeezer" + Moulinex:
56
987
193
151
94
0
Search results (English)
AltaVista "image search" (10/04/01):
• citrus press:
3
• lemon squeezer:
2
• orange squeezer:
2
• orange juicer:
2
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Internet catalogues
English-language
section needs to be
indexed using at least:
lemon squeezer, orange
squeezer, orange juicer, citrus
juicer, citrus press, ...
Question is: How?
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META tags
How can one add synonyms, variants, etc. to
Internet catalogues, etc.?
Solution: HTML META tags ... containing
invisible keywords, that are recognized and
indexed by certain search engines.
Same applies to typos.
(Think about spelling of destinations offered by a
travel agency.)
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Information Mapping®
What is it?
Information Mapping
• Information Mapping® is a methodology for
analysing, organizing, and presenting
information based on the audience's needs
and the purpose of the information.
• All information is presented in specially
formatted "maps" comprising "chunks".
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Information Mapping
–
Information Mapping
(in Portuguese) by Formedia
http://www.formedia.pt/
–
Information Mapping in Europe
http://www.imap.dk/
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On-line resources: General
• Online writing course (in English):
http://www.me.vt.edu/writing/
• Online diploma course in technical writing (in
English):
http://www.cpit.ac.nz/splashpages/techwrit/
• STC (Society for Technical Communication)
http://www.stc.org/
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On-line resources: writing, etc.
• Writing resources for engineers, etc.:
http://www.ecf.toronto.edu/~writing/resources.htm
• On-line English grammar:
www.edunet.com/english/grammar/
• Writing mission statements:
–
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"The Mission Primer, Four Steps to an Effective
Mission Statement"
www.erols.com/rdoh/4steps.html
On-line resources
On-line learning:
–
On-line technical writing courses:
http://www.online-learning.com/
–
On-line writing tips:
http://saywhatyoumean.com/
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On-line resources
Tips on presentation skills:
–
http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/Dept/Tips/present/present.htm
Tips on using PowerPoint:
–
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http://www.communicateusingtechnology.com/pptworkscd.htm
On-line resources
PowerPoint Is Evil
or Power corrupts.
PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.
at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html
An alternative view by Edward Tufte,
Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Computer
Science and Statistics, and Graphic Design at Yale,
and author of "The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint".
See http://www.edwardtufte.com
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Roundup
1. Communication in engineering projects

Communications-critical phases
2. Technical communication: Basic concepts



Sender/receiver model
Audience-centred communication
Tips (writing, PowerPoint, etc.)
3. Communications failures + responses
4. Localization & catalogues
68