Key Communication skills for Developers to master

Four days' ago I was in a twitter space titled 'Communication skills for developers in tech'.Therein were top developers Danny Thompson (@DThompsonDev)(Google), Stephanie Wong @stephr_wong (Google) and Francesco Ciulla (@FrancescoCiulla) talking about how improving their communication skills catapulted their careers to the next level.

Some of the pointers that came out as benefits of good communication were:

• Being able to quickly identify problems

• Provide viable solutions

• Network effectively

• Build their personal and organisational brands.

  I learnt a lot from the space and below I list my favourites. Feel free to add more;

1. Listen

Communication is all about relaying complex ideas to a target group of people in a way they can understand. It's however a two way street. To acquire good communication skills ,you must also be a good listener.

In a project setting ,for example, its imperative you understand a understand the concept before developing it. Disconnect between a developer and stakeholders often leads to frustration and delay in project completion. Avoid this setback like this:

• Take ample time to understand the concept

• Ask questions to understand output

• Listen to the answers.

• Maintain regular communication with stakeholders throughout the process

2. Practise

We all dread public speaking. It's actually death if you are introvert like me. Danny's advice? Practise makes perfect. Whatever your means of communication channel is ,be it Video,Audio,Writing or presentations, do it every chance you get.

You will fail, embarrass yourself and cry, just make sure when you fall, you fall forward. Learn from books, training or by mentors and see yourself tame this monster and excel in your career.

3. Know your Audience

Communication styles vary for different audience groups. Social media has established that the same information relayed on twitter will not be relayed the same way on Facebook. Build your content based on the audience preferences.

Knowing your audience means answering these questions:

• who are they?

• where can you find them?

• What are their communication needs?

• What do you want to communicate?

• What do they know about the topic/what don't they know?

• How will they benefit from your content?

This helps to build products tailored to their preferences.

4. Know your Content

One of the rules of communicating technology is you must know your stuff. It's impossible to write about CSS is you have never styled a web page.

Taking time to master what you intend to communicate not only enables you communicate useful content but also answer questions at the end.

When you don't have an answer to a question, please say so. You can then revert and answer it later on instead of giving wrongful information.

5. Know yourself

In his book 'The Monk who sold his Ferrari', Robin Sharma say's, "when you study people you are wise, but when you study yourself you are enlightened".

Your personality reflects on how you communicate. Finding the right channels and learning how to navigate through them based on your personality is very important. Here are various avenues you can explore:

• Youtube video's

• Twitter communities

• WhatsApp green circle

• Blogging

• Podcasts

6. Network

Interacting and learning from others in your field will expose you to resources you didn't even know existed. Being around like minded individuals will help you come out of your shell.

Good networks will help you achieve the following:

• Enabling space to create better

• Identify your shortcomings

• Share your experiences.

I see how developers gain confidence when they interact within their communities. #Techtwitter,#Hashnode,#stackoverflow, #Github among others have enabled developers interact online without prejudice.You can greatly improve your communication skills in these communities.

7. Positive body Language

Maintain the appropriate body language in reference to your audience:

• Eye contact

• Body posture

• tone of voice

• Dress appropriately

• Use appropriate language

Observing these will help in communicating way before you open your mouth.

8. Sell yourself

Building a brand around a niche is essential in communication in tech. Identifying an area of expertise, ideals and principles will enable you communicate interact better with an audience.

A good example is tech twitter, where individuals have created communities around what they tweet about. Some are known for their expertise in languages like Javascript, Web3,Python e.t.c while others are know for Freelancing and Networking tips. Building a brand around a niche and see yourself excel.

9. Ask for help

Instead of spending hours or days on end trying to figure out a code, why not ask for help. Having useful resources at hand will ease your troubles.

Other than asking your team , today the internet is flooded by resourceful repositories for developers. These include:

• Social media-tech forums on twitter, facebook and twitch

• Websites -W3schools, Freecodecamp,Codecademy

• Forums-Github, Stack overflow ,Reddit

  10. Understand hierarchy

  This is especially important for employed developers. While you can freely Interact with celebrities on social media, in an organisational set up subordination is not welcome.

  Knowing who to consult at the right time will see you moving projects accordingly. Working on your communication skills as a team will see you get a great turnaround on your projects.