The importance of communication skills for engineers

“I contend that we (engineers) are undervalued because of our widespread inability to explain what we do to the general public (and why it is so important). It is one of the hardest goals to accomplish, to be able to boil down difficult concepts into a short and easily understood presentation or elevator pitch.” 

Marybeth Miceli, President, Miceli Infrastructure Consulting, USA (2011)

In my opinion, those who do not have an engineering background would find it hard to understand engineers since they do not have an overview of what we do daily. When an engineer was to discuss their work, those who do not have a background would not be able to understand the technical terms. This inability to understand prevents them from valuing the work of an engineer. By communicating on an equal footing would allow them to further appreciate each other's work.