The importance of communication skills

“Communication skills are an essential component in the education of engineering students to facilitate not just students’ education but also to prepare them for their future careers.”

Marc Riemer, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University (2007)

I definitely resonate with this sentence. Life is not a race but a marathon, communication is a skill we developed since we were kids and we must continue to hone it.

Communication can come in many forms, spoken, written and even gestured. Regardless of the form, what is required is the common understanding to get our message across. This is the reason that many companies have their own styles to label products and procedures. It is essential that we not only understand the procedures, but also to have the abilities to improve on them through better communication.

In engineering, communication is the key to success, if we can’t coordinate our ideas and plans, nothing feasible will come into fruition. This is especially true in high-risk jobs dealing with complex machineries where communication cannot afford to be broken. If communication is unclear every individual would have their own interpretation on how tasks should be carried out and sooner or later injuries will ensue.

It is clear that communication is important, even in the little things that happen in our daily lives. Good communication will enable us to better understand one another without any misunderstandings.