Writing is an increasingly important skill for engineering leaders. Poor writing can hamper career progression, above a certain level. Tactics for more clear, more frequent and more confident writing.
Another great piece - as I’ve transitioned into leadership roles I’ve put great emphasis on clear communication and communicating is such a way that it takes all members on the same journey.
Key aspects that have helped me personally include: pairing on emails and getting input from others, before sending a communication piece think clearly on how it will be interpreted and does it meet your objectives, write based on the particular audience who you are looking to collaborate with I.e. when communication is product engineering focused, it is key that we talk in product terms so we have a common language.
With emails I have found that structuring emails and ensuring they are easy to read is key - I highly recommend a mark down tool for emails like markdown here.
Some suggestions on how to make emails more readable:
1. We use numbers instead of bullet points so in the reply it is easier to reference
2. We use @Name to mention someone if there is a todo belonging to that person.
3. If the email is long we often add TL;DR so the readers can decide whether they want to dig deeper into that email or not.
4. Don't use "reply all" all the time. For example, if you just say thank you.
5. If we add someone to the email chain we start with +Name. To be sure everyone is aware the list of recipients has changed.
Thanks for publishing Gergely.
I took lots of notes and actions from your article.
Hi Gergely, great article as always.
I've noticed that this is the second piece in a row where Cloudflare is named "Cloudfare" - you might want to check your spellchecking settings.
Another great piece - as I’ve transitioned into leadership roles I’ve put great emphasis on clear communication and communicating is such a way that it takes all members on the same journey.
Key aspects that have helped me personally include: pairing on emails and getting input from others, before sending a communication piece think clearly on how it will be interpreted and does it meet your objectives, write based on the particular audience who you are looking to collaborate with I.e. when communication is product engineering focused, it is key that we talk in product terms so we have a common language.
With emails I have found that structuring emails and ensuring they are easy to read is key - I highly recommend a mark down tool for emails like markdown here.
https://markdown-here.com/
Hi Gergely, a lot of useful insights here.
Do you have some favorite resources to get better in typing without looking?