Works Well with Others
7 Talking Tips for a Successful Career in Technology
At the Graduate School of Technology’s (GST) Career Night on March 1, two young, dynamic computer engineers from the website, Foursquare, let their audience in on the best practices for effectively communicating with clients, coworkers, and CEO’s throughout their technology careers.
Titled “Beyond Coding,” the talk featured Maryam Aly and Max Sklar discussing ways that GST students and alumni can avoid common communication pitfalls and adopt better, user-friendly ‘soft’ skills to maximize a tech graduate’s value in the workplace:
- Be authentic, personal, and positive. Use your personality, rather than robotically go through motions
- Don’t use insider jargon. Don’t talk down to your colleagues
- Think about what interests your audience based on their perspective and expertise
- Sandwich negative feedback between positive feedback
- Recognize differences in your audiences. Are they engineers? CEO’s? Students?
- Use motivating language
say: “Wouldn’t it be great if we loaded the data as soon as the first app hit happens?”
not: “Don’t you want to just open up your phone and have the app screen already loaded?”
- Listen to negative comments and feedback. Don’t be defensive and don’t place blame. You will have your blind spots, so it’s important to find out where to improve.
For more information about the Graduate School of Technology, or to enroll in any of the School’s programs in Instructional Technology, Web and MultiMedia Design, or Information Systems, visit TC Graduate School of Technology
