In Engineering, You Get Points for Pretty
“Be good or look good” is a false dichotomy. You have to do both — in reporting, in presentation, and in life.
From the desk of James Blythe —
You know that guy or gal at work. The person who either “is good” or “looks good” but can’t do both. Maybe it’s the idiot savant. Maybe it’s your resident Peter-Principal Award recipient. [1] Maybe it’s your contrast collar, cuff-link wearing fast-talker.
This isn’t an essay about being physically attractive or charismatic. It’s about impressing you that, in order to be effective in the workplace, you must be competent and communicate effectively. Competency is the pre-requisite. You don’t get any bonus points for being a smart person when you’re an engineer. Engineers are expected to be smart. Some are not. Many are. The secret sauce of engineering is in effective communications.
For me, this comes down to a few basic principles. To be effective as an engineer, you must present yourself well (look pretty) and present your work well (be pretty).
Presenting yourself well relates to manner of dress, clarity of speech, and maintaining appropriate (respectful) decorum. All the things that make you “look pretty”. Presenting your work well relates to appropriate decorum, aesthetically pleasing composition (in reports and presentations), and clear communication of a story. Basically, you need to “be pretty”.
“Mr. Blythe, this is silly. In engineering, the facts are the facts and the math is the math. All that matters is that you are correct! The rest of this is just PR stuff for program managers and sleezy execs! The important, technical people don’t care about these things and are smart like I am!”
Wrong.
Technical competence and “prettiness” go hand-in-hand at all times. Having one without the other is a recipe for disaster. In the best case, it will stunt your growth and reduce your overall effectiveness as a professional. At worst, failing at one can invalidate how good you are at the other and leave you looking like the biggest fool in the room.
So there I was…
For a stint I was picking up a couple classes at the local university for a friend. Grading papers and reports is a tedious, but necessary, part of the learning process. Good feedback is often rare — in my experience — but essential for young would-be-engineers.
I went through many red pens those few years. I remember seeing the shock on students’ faces when they got back their reports.
One challenged me after the first assignment. “Professor Blythe, I don’t think other teachers actually read these reports,” they told me.
Hyperbole, I’m sure.
After a not-so-lengthy discussion, the issue was that I had gig’d them on spelling, grammar, and numerous formatting issues. I’d also gone through and removed numerous qualitative modifiers [2] and excess language — a device commonly used by students to fill minimum word and page counts. It becomes so ingrained in their writing style during university that the unending “point game” makes it difficult for them to “turn the fluff off.”
The student made their case —
“The calculations are right (actually, they weren’t) and I put everything in there you said to so why are you grading on spelling?”
I explained, that even if the work was correct (which it wasn’t), they were not able to communicate it effectively. How could I, as a teacher, grade a student on the basis of, “they tried and probably understood the material”? Honestly, it didn’t look like they had tried or understood the material, but the student swore up-and-down they had.
The student even tried to appeal to my vanity. Certainly, in “industry”, what was most important for smart people like me was that an engineer’s analysis was right. So, of course, their boss care wouldn’t care too much about their spelling, just the smartness of their engineering-itude!
Again, wrong.
If your boss is any good, then yes they care about spelling, grammar, and formatting. If this student-then-turned-engineer spent the rest of their career putting reports together at the 5th grade level, how is their boss or customer supposed to take them seriously?
What if the analysis was correct, but looked childish? Would a customer believe it? If your prized engineer can’t spell their way out of a cardboard box, [3] what does that say about other aspects of their competence? You never want to give you boss or a customer an excuse to “phone a friend” or find you a supervising adult.
It looks bad on your annual performance review.
The point of making things “pretty” in engineering is to make them understandable. “Pretty” means there are no distractions from the content. No sidebars or little annoyances to draw your customers away from “who you are” or “what you’re trying to communicate”.
In the engineering world, I find that people exist in four basic categories. I’ve listed them here for your consideration.
- Most common — warm body in chair. Mediocre technical and communications skills. Can probably fog mirror on-demand.
- Smart people who lack the ability to communicate succinctly.
- Smooth talkers who are not particularly smart (or are technically incompetent).
- Least common — the walkers-and-talkers. Good technical minds and capable of commanding a room.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, you want to be in Category 4. I’m going to assume basic competence in your profession as a pre-requisite to this conversation. Again, you don’t get any bonus points for being smart or capable, sorry dude/dudette.
So let’s get into it.
How to Look Pretty (as an Engineer)
Remember, when we say “look pretty” we’re referring to a manner of dress, decorum, and manner of speech that marks you as a professional. It makes you easy to understand. You stand out from the crowd as a person who “has their act together”. You exude confidence and professionalism.
I’m aware that increasingly casual attire is “in” with the kids these days. I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve read and tirades I’ve sat through where the statement, “real people wear sneakers and sweats” or “no one cares about how you dress. Wear what makes you comfortable and be confident!”
That’s a swing-and-a-miss.
If you wear shorts and tank tops and sweats to work as an engineer, you are a joke. If you don’t care, so be it. I know several states with the American Union with a very casual dress culture. Maybe if you’re in software the “I don’t shower and moths make their summer home in my Converse” is a power-move. I couldn’t say.
The problem is that you never know who you are going to run into day-to-day. Why go out of your way to make yourself look like a college undergraduate or a European backpacker?
Why give a customer or coworker an excuse to judge your manner of dress when you’re trying to make an important point? Yes, it absolutely happens. No, I’m not suggesting you need to put on a half-inch of face paint and break out the contrast collar and Gucci cufflinks (afterall, we aren’t in finance).
I’ve given fashion advice before for young professionals. We’re not going to get in-depth on it. If you can rock business casual, do it. If you work in a more down-and-dirty profession, a short-sleeve polo and clean jeans or khakis is acceptable. They go well with steel-toed boots as well. Of course, you can tailor your look somewhat to fit in with your peers and industry.
Just try to put a clean and professional look together, okay? Ignore people who tell you it doesn’t matter. It says something about people who would judge (poorly) you on the basis of passable attire and good hygene.
When it comes to speaking, I think this is a pretty decent article on the subject. I’m not big into speaking coaches or organizations. If you’re especially bad at talking in public (not just giving speeches) or really need to take your spoken-word to an extremely polished level for some reason, go for it.
Proper decorum is pretty straightforward. Don’t make assumptions about people. Be courteous and respectful. Smile and be pleasant. Handle conflict gracefully. Listen before you speak. Keep your personal life, feelings, and politics to yourself.
I know society is pushing ever forward toward total emotional transparency but the reality is that you are at your day job. You are here to work. Small talk is fine, but oversharing can alienate coworkers and hamper those professional relationships. Be careful what you share and when.
If you can dress respectably, practice proper decorum, and speak well, that’s half the battle as an engineer. Again, the point here is that you don’t want to allow superfluous, outward-facing things to distract from your work. Don’t forget, most non-engineers still entertain the notion that — as an egg-head — you have no ability to be social and have irregular grooming habits. If you can upste that narrative, it will endear people to you and make you that much more effective as a person.
How to Be Pretty (as an Engineer)
I like that title line. Let’s take it in for a moment.
…
Done? Okay, let’s get back to it.
The gist here is that you want to be socially engaging. You want your reports and presentations to look professional and clearly communicate how great you are. You can put a decent outfit and a smile on anyone. That’s not what they hired you for.
They hired you to solve problems. They hired you to make and break things. They may have even hired you to do math. [4]
Luckily for us, making pretty presentations is easy. There’s a TED Talk on it. Watch the video and then get Melissa Marshall to come run you through it in-person. It’s worth it. If your company doesn’t offer this, see what can be done to get a class setup.
I haven’t found a great course on making pretty reports yet. A lot of this falls into the category of “what is standard in your field or at your company.” That being said, here are some pointers.
- Make a bottom-line-up-front that summarizes your report. [5]
- Use proper formatting for Figures and Tables. Reference them in the text immediately prior to inserting them into your report. They must be on the same page with few exceptions.
- Re-read every sentence and ask yourself, “how many of these words can I eliminate and still make my point?”
- All text and images must be readily legible on 8.5" x 11" paper.
- Always fill the full page with content. Never leave large blank spaces.
- Never make a reference on one page and then put the referenced article on another.
- Never refer to “above” or “below” or “previously” or “later”. If you need to do this, reference a specific section number or heading. The exception is citations and endnotes which follow specific formatting.
- You must use proper punctuation. If you don’t know how, learn.
- You must use proper grammar. If you don’t know how, learn.
- You must use proper spelling. If you don’t know how, learn.
A good stylistic reference for effective writing is Malcom Gladwell’s Masterclass. Although he’s speaking as a more open-format writer, there’s some good lessons in here for engineers as well. Focus on process and sentence structure. He has some really interesting points which can be extremely effective. Some of the sections are a bit long-winded so you may need to dig a little but it’s good stuff.
I find technical writers look at themselves as separate beasts from “storytellers”. Certainly, we are not making up fantastical beasts and heroic… heroes, but effective technical writers do tell a story. Stories are how people understand the world. “First this, then that, which caused this conflict, which was resolved when this other thing happened.” Your reports should communicate this clearly. Consider how you lead the reader from one point to the next. How do you establish the relevance of your work? How do you guide the reader to ask the questions that you have answers for (and then answer them!)?
Social demeanor is, I think, the hardest thing to cultivate. To me, it comes down to three things — listen actively, speak plainly, and speak concisely. Incoherent rambling is bad. My number one recommended reference for this is Dale Carnegie’s book on the topic. Read it. Don’t ask questions. Take in all the gooey communications goodness.
Am I “Pretty” Enough?
Only you can answer that question young Padawan-learner.
Realistically, my belief is that this process is a never-ending one of self-improvement. You should always be looking for ways to do better and be better. Solicit feedback from others about how you can be more effective. Keep in mind, part of “looking pretty and being pretty” as an engineer is being mindful and respectful of others. Too often, wiz-kids throw their intellectual weight around to let people know how smart they are. When you do this, it makes the audience less receptive to you and your message. It also often causes you to miss the point entirely. Never a good thing.
It’s not enough to be smart as an engineer. You must be pretty as well.
And, as always, good hunting.
References and Footnotes
[1] Want to get a blast-from-the-past? Pick up a copy of the Peter Principle by Laurence J. Peter (PhD). Don’t take it as gospel as there’s some bizarre stuff in here. Good for a laugh though.
[2] I have no idea if this is a technical term. Qualitative modifiers refer to those little words you put in front of a sentence to qualify what comes afterward. “Honestly, it seems like…” or “Obviously, we can see…” or “I feel that…” There are a couple problems with these modifiers. First, they add nothing of value to the sentence. Second, they suggest that there is some counterpoint waiting to be delivered.
For example, when you say, “honestly” it suggests that any sentence not qualified as such is potentially (or maybe necessarily) dishonest. When you say, “obviously” it implies that it’s actually not so obvious and you are “leading the witness” to a potentially erroneous conclusion. After all, if it was obvious, why would you have to say it?
I don’t care about what students or engineers “feel”. I’m not even sure I want to know what they “think”. In reporting, you are conducting an experiment or data analysis or summarizing information. Your thoughts and conclusions should either be factual (referenced) or supported by analysis. If you tell me you “feel” or “think” that suggests to me you are just “making it up”.
These are all verbal tics that are acceptable in casual speech. Often, people use them to soften the tone of something. Other times, people use them to portray a specific feeling or theme to a discussion. In technical writing and professional discourse, you should avoid them.
[3] Not sure if this is a good analogy. How would one spell their way out of a cardboard box? Note to self, revise when you have a wittier one-liner available.
[4] Heaven forbid… Business and Philosophy Majors, look away. Save yourselves.
[5] It could be an abstract, cover letter, executive summary or something else. Call it what you will. With the exception of the “cover letter” format, it should be no more than two paragraphs (8 sentences maximum) that states what problem you are addressing, what “need” was identified to fix it, and how you fixed it or what work you are doing/collecting to drive to a solution.
It should be understandable by your boss and boss’ boss. It should have just enough information for your peers and other “smart people” to decide “do I want to know more?” It will not detail every technical item in the report. It summarizes the high points so readers can choose to dig-in if they want to get down-and-dirty.
