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Communicating With Engineers, What You Need to Know

By Michael Stelzner

Mark from Washington DC asks, “How should I write to engineers?”

This very question is well addressed in an article by Roger Slavens entitled, “Connecting With Engineers.” It was recently published in BtoB Magazine.Here are some excerpts:

“Engineers often take a wait-and-see approach and sometimes view anything new with a skeptical eye.”

“This audience thrives on deep data and solid proof points.”

“They want marketing information to sound like it came from their peers—fellow engineers rather than traditional marketers.”

“It’s important to speak to engineers in their own language, they use jargon and labels that nobody else does.”

What has been your experience communicating with engineers?

Are they indeed a unique and challenging audience to write to?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 21st, 2007 at 4:36 am and is filed under Writing White Papers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  • Deepa Pillai
    Just wondering if you have any tips for technical professionals to communicate technical information to non-technical people. They would need to watch their jargon and learn to simplify their language. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

    Deepa
  • Having finally dug from things (which took longer than expected), I came up with a couple of lists.

    Text: http://connected-content.com/blog/2007/06/04/writing-for-engineers-other-techies/

    Graphics: http://connected-content.com/blog/2007/06/06/creating-graphics-for-engineers-other-techies/
  • Eric and Jon - Thanks so much for adding to the discussion! - Mike
  • Good news--I'm an engineer and can help shed some light on this topic. All comments to date are spot on. Engineers want communication to be black and white--no gray, no fluff. Stick to the facts.
    Engineers (and I'm generalizing) are perfectionists. Engineers (another generalization) are also pessimists (most will tell you its realism, not pessimism).
    Engineers do appreciate technical-speak. But beware: not all engineers speak the same technical language. Key point--know the audience.
    Each engineer has his/her own opinion about how the world works. Sometimes one or more engineer will share similar views. However, there will be nuances and differences in the details. And with engineers, the devil is in the details. I've participated in and observed all too many "discussions" where the most trivial details are debated.
    Yes, engineers are quirky.
  • First of all, don't assume your audience is all male, since they are many women in engineering/programmer roles, otherwise you're liable to make embarrassing gender based mistakes (Sorry Whitney!) See what happens when I don't do my research, or proof-read?

    One thing is to present a balanced view. Engineers are skeptical of too-good-to-be-true articles, and the first question is 'what's the gotcha'? It's can be tricky to present drawbacks in a case study or whitepaper, but when done right, it lends credibility. Otherwise the good points get forgotten as the reader begins assuming or imagining what the downside must be. An engineer's real job is dealing with the things when they go wrong, so they are a pessimistic lot.

    Eric Murphy
    OPC Exchange
    http://blog.matrikonopc.com
  • Hi Eric;

    Thanks for your comments!

    What are some other character traits of engineers that are important to consider when writing to them?

    By the way, Whitney is a she, not a he. I am sure she will forgive you. :)

    Mike
  • As an engineer, who writes for engineers, I'd say Whitney is on the money with his comments. Engineers/programmers tend to be logical, no-nonsense people with little time to waste. They want to be informed, not sold, on things that will improve efficiency and saves costs. That may be a broad stereotype, but I know a lot of engineers, and they fit the mold :)

    I wouldn’t say you have to be an engineer to write to engineers. (Most engineers are not good writers :) ) But, as others have commented, you have to KNOW what you are talking about, or you lose credibility and your audience quickly.

    Eric Murphy
    OPC Exchange
    http://blog.matrikonopc.com
  • Whitney - You made some excellent points! Thanks for your response - Mike
  • "Do you all think only engineers can write to engineers?"

    Good point. In very specific applications this may be the case or they must work closely with the writer. However, a good writer is a good researcher.
  • Do you all think only engineers can write to engineers?
  • Engineers/programmers are one of my favorite groups to write for. When you write for them, you're writing in a No B.S. Zone. You have to KNOW something...or you'll lose them. This group can smell a faker a mile off.

    You need a *short* lead-in, a solid conclusion that clearly ties everything together, and a minimum of adjectives that aren't part of their jargon. And pay a lot of attention to graphics. If you have more work than time, be mindful of where you can cut corners...and where you can't.

    Bulletproof diagrams for workflow, process, etc., before you publish them. Have another engineer/techie look them over before you release a document. This group pays a lot of attention to diagrams, and they draw them themselves very well. If they find a flaw in a diagram, they'll get hung up on it and your credibility will take a hit.

    Make sure graphs and charts fit your data and the story you're trying to tell with it. I've seen engineers get caught up in 20-minute debates about whether a bar chart was really what an author should have used for XYZ data.

    And, if you're writing about software, pay attention to screen shots. Make sure there's a clear connection with the text. Make sure they're the correct screens for whatever software you're talking about (yours, an operating system, an RDBMS, etc.) and whatever version of that software you're talking about. Same goes for physical devices -- make sure photos and technical drawings show what they should.

    This all sounds like common-sense, you-should-always-do-this advice. But I've observed that where other readers may just quickly glance at images, engineers/programmers will *scrutinize* them.
  • Writing to engineers is something that can not be faked. You have to know something about it or they won't buy it. Do your research first.
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