How to Get What You Want: Communication Tips for Software Engineers

Summary

This video provides communication tips for software engineers. It emphasizes that communication skills, not just coding, lead to promotions and opportunities. Tips include speaking confidently so others respect your expertise, proactively discussing career goals with managers, using phrases like 'I understand' in disagreements, writing clearly by balancing long and short sentences, and structuring proposals to first state the problem then explain your proposed solution along with alternatives, pros, and cons.

Takeaways

• 😀 Focus on communication skills as much as technical skills for career growth
• 👍🏻 Speak confidently without over justifying to build authority
• 💡 Set expectations upfront instead of asking for things after the fact
• 🤝 Use “I understand” to gracefully disagree in tricky situations
• ✍️ Use tools like Grammarly to improve writing style and clarity
• 📄 Include problem, solution, alternatives in proposals to show thoroughness
• 🎯 Answer the “what’s the catch” question in pros and cons section
• 📈 Use pacing - follow long sentences with short ones when writing
• 📚 Check Marco's old blog posts for technical writing examples
• 👍 Like and subscribe if you enjoyed the video

Q & A

What are some key communication skills that software engineers should focus on?

The video highlights skills like knowing how to talk to people so they respect you more, asking clearly for things you want like raises/promotions, talking yourself out of uncomfortable situations, and writing engaging formal documents and blog posts.

Why is justifying your position often counterproductive when answering questions?

Justifying erodes your position as the subject matter expert. It's better to answer confidently without defending yourself unless explicitly challenged.

What's a good strategy for asking your manager for a future raise or promotion?

Discuss your goals early on and align on what results you need to achieve. This shows ambition, helps set clear expectations, and makes the future conversation easier.

What's a useful phrase for disagreeing with someone without making them an enemy?

"I understand" shows you comprehend their viewpoint while letting you politely share your own.

What are some key sections to include in a project proposal document?

Intro/purpose, problem statement, proposed solution(s), alternatives considered, pros and cons of solution, "what's the catch" of your solution.

How can you make technical documents and posts easier to digest?

Use a mix of long and short sentences for better pacing. Provide examples to illustrate concepts. Organize content logically.

How does Grammarly help improve writing?

It makes suggestions as you write to improve style/clarity. Features like Rewrite help shorten/formalize text. Integrates across apps to streamline workflows.

What did the video creator learn from repeatedly being asked "What's the catch?" after presentations?

To anticipate weaknesses in your solutions upfront and address risks, limitations, and tradeoffs explicitly in the pros and cons.

Why is focusing on hard technical skills alone not enough for engineers?

Communication skills play a huge role in determining promotions, opportunities etc. Technical chops aren't the only critical factor.

Where can you find writing samples to help improve blog posts and technical documents?

The creator offered links in the video description to some of his old blog posts focused specifically on writing improvement.