The most important skill for an engineer isn't math or computer programming. It's not even technical. More important than anything else is an engineer's ability to communicate, particularly through writing like specifications and emails. No matter how brilliant you might be, your knowledge is useless if it can't be conveyed to others. How will you convince project stakeholders that your idea is as great as it seems? How will you win people to your cause? How will you market your product to consumers? Without proper written communication, none of this is possible. So, here are my tips:
Know what you're talking about. This is the most important tip you can give any engineer. The market is always changing and new technology is always emerging. Just make sure that you really know what you're talking about when you start writing. If you're feeling unconfident, reach out to others for help!
Make sure your audience will know what you're talking about. Know your audience! Suppose you want to buy a transformer. If you're talking to the manufacturer's engineer directly, they will likely understand and be interested in discussing all kind of details. On the other hand, if you're talking to your project finance team about the same transformer, there's a good chance that they won't understand the same discussion. Likewise, you may not understand exactly what the project finance team is doing! Respect other people's knowledge areas and levels and plan your writing accordingly.
Don't put too little or too much information. This tip is pretty subjective, but it's also really important. Think about your audience. If you're talking to a busy executive, try to stick to the point and don't get into all the details. They just need to know what's actionable. On the other hand, if you're trying to give instructions to a newly hired employee, that employee will likely want all the detail you can provide.
Use complete sentences. It might sound obvious, but using complete sentences is probably the most important writing tip out there. It's easy to get in a rush and write up an abbreviated version of exactly what you want to say. Just remember, notes that make sense to you will rarely make sense to others if they aren't written in complete sentences.
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