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Curious how the author got better at communication. What are good resources or books for doing so?


I didn't recall any books helping much on communication.

With regard to presentation and speaking, I had great leaders around me who provided candid feedback the presentation was off-point, too long, or had to be re-ordered (e.g., when presenting to non-tech folks, results before methodology). It was also useful to "rehearse" any conference presentations at meet-ups and get feedback.

Feedback to improve written communication is harder to come by. Few people feedback on your design documents or reports. For this, I find blogging and seeking feedback from writers whose writing I enjoy to help the most.


Well.... I imagine it comes with the author's field? I've always been vocal about how much I suck at communication in both my personal life and work.

I think I would have landed a super nice position if I wasn't a socially inept person. Bitterness and "reality" or "truths" won't help us, so these days I'm just leaning on being reasonable and as human as possible because nobody likes a person who's constantly pointing out flaws and telling people they are horrible. (thankfully I've never in my life told anyone they are bad at something, at the end of the day this field you can keep improving yourself. I imagine in a field of medicine if you mess up too much that's it for you)


Practice!

Written communication: blog, short stories, editing others' work

Oral: practice public speaking, either by volunteering in your own context whenever possible (most shy away - you stand out for volunteering to speak) or build confidence and skills outside, eg in Toastmasters.




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