Professional Communication

Overview

This skill provides frameworks and guidance for effective professional communication in software development contexts. Whether you're writing an email to stakeholders, crafting a Slack message, or preparing meeting agendas, these principles help you communicate clearly and build professional credibility.

Core principle: Effective communication isn't about proving how much you know - it's about ensuring your message is received and understood.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Writing emails to teammates, managers, or stakeholders
• Crafting Slack messages or async communications
• Preparing meeting agendas or summaries
• Translating technical concepts for non-technical audiences
• Structuring status updates or reports
• Improving clarity of written communication

Keywords: email, slack, message, writing, communication, meeting, agenda, status update, report

Core Frameworks

The What-Why-How Structure

Use this universal framework to organize any professional message:

Component	Purpose	Example
What	State the topic/request clearly	"We need to delay the release by one week"
Why	Explain the reasoning	"Critical bug found in payment processing"
How	Outline next steps/action items	"QA will retest by Thursday; I'll update stakeholders Friday"

Apply to: Emails, status updates, meeting talking points, technical explanations

Three Golden Rules for Written Communication

1. Start with a clear subject/purpose - Recipients should immediately grasp what your message is about
2. Use bullets, headlines, and scannable formatting - Nobody wants a wall of text
3. Key messages first - Busy people appreciate efficiency; state your main point upfront

Audience Calibration

Before communicating, ask yourself:

1. Who are you writing to? (Technical peers, managers, stakeholders, customers)
2. What level of detail do they need? (High-level overview vs implementation details)
3. What's the value for them? (How does this affect their work/decisions?)

Email Best Practices

Subject Line Formula

Instead of	Try
"Project updates"	"Project X: Status Update and Next Steps"
"Question"	"Quick question: API rate limiting approach"
"FYI"	"FYI: Deployment scheduled for Tuesday 3pm"

Email Structure Template

**Subject:** [Project/Topic]: [Specific Purpose]

Hi [Name],

[1-2 sentences stating the key point or request upfront]

**Context/Background:**
- [Bullet point 1]
- [Bullet point 2]

**What I need from you:**
- [Specific action or decision needed]
- [Timeline if applicable]

[Optional: Brief next steps or follow-up plan]

Best,
[Your name]

Common Email Types

Type	Key Elements
Status Update	Progress summary, blockers, next steps, timeline
Request	Clear ask, context, deadline, why it matters
Escalation	Issue summary, impact, attempted solutions, needed decision
FYI/Announcement	What changed, who's affected, any required action

For templates: See references/email-templates.md

Slack/Chat Etiquette

When to Use Chat vs Email

Use Chat	Use Email
Quick questions with short answers	Detailed documentation needing records
Real-time coordination	Formal communications to stakeholders
Informal team discussions	Messages requiring careful review
Time-sensitive updates	Complex explanations with multiple parts

Slack Best Practices

1. Use threads - Keep main channels scannable; follow-ups go in threads
2. @mention thoughtfully - Don't notify people unnecessarily
3. Channel organization - Right channel for right topic
4. Be direct - "Can you review my PR?" beats "Hey, are you busy?"
5. Async-friendly - Write messages that don't require immediate response

The "No Hello" Principle

Instead of:

You: Hi
You: Are you there?
You: Can I ask you something?
[waiting...]

Try:

You: Hi Sarah - quick question about the deployment script.
     Getting a permission error on line 42. Have you seen this before?
     Here's the error: [paste error]

Technical vs Non-Technical Communication

When to Be Technical vs Accessible

Audience	Approach
Engineering peers	Technical details, code examples, architecture specifics
Technical managers	Balance of detail and high-level impact
Non-technical stakeholders	Business impact, analogies, outcomes over implementation
Customers	Plain language, what it means for them, avoid jargon

Three Strategies for Simplification

1. Start with the big picture before details - People process "why" before "how"
2. Simplify without losing accuracy - Use analogies; replace jargon with plain language
3. Know when to switch - Read the room; adjust based on questions and engagement

Jargon Translation Examples

Technical	Plain Language
"Microservices architecture"	"Our system is split into smaller, independent pieces that can scale separately"
"Asynchronous message processing"	"Tasks are queued and processed in the background"
"CI/CD pipeline"	"Automated process that tests and deploys our code"
"Database migration"	"Updating how our data is organized and stored"

For more examples: See references/jargon-simplification.md

Writing Clarity Principles

Active Voice Over Passive Voice

Active voice is clearer, more direct, and conveys authority:

Passive (avoid)	Active (prefer)
"A bug was identified by the team"	"The team identified a bug"
"The feature will be implemented"	"We will implement the feature"
"Errors were found during testing"	"Testing revealed errors"

Eliminate Filler Words

Instead of	Use
"At this point in time"	"Now"
"In the event that"	"If"
"Due to the fact that"	"Because"
"In order to"	"To"
"I just wanted to check if"	"Can you"

The "So What?" Test

After writing, ask: "So what? Why does this matter to the reader?"

If you can't answer clearly, restructure your message to lead with the value/impact.

Meeting Communication

Before: Agenda Best Practices

Every meeting invite should include:

1. Clear objective - What will be accomplished?
2. Agenda items - Topics to cover with time estimates
3. Preparation required - What should attendees bring/review?
4. Expected outcome - Decision needed? Information sharing? Brainstorm?

During: Facilitation Tips

• Time-box discussions - "Let's spend 5 minutes on this, then move on"
• Capture action items live - Who does what by when
• Parking lot - Note off-topic items for later

After: Summary Format

**Meeting: [Topic] - [Date]**

**Attendees:** [Names]

**Key Decisions:**
- [Decision 1]
- [Decision 2]

**Action Items:**
- [ ] [Person]: [Task] - Due [Date]
- [ ] [Person]: [Task] - Due [Date]

**Next Steps:**
- [Follow-up meeting if needed]
- [Documents to share]

For structures by meeting type: See references/meeting-structures.md

Quick Reference: Communication Checklist

Before sending any professional communication:

• Clear purpose - Can the recipient understand intent in 5 seconds?
• Right audience - Is this the appropriate person/channel?
• Key message first - Is the main point upfront?
• Scannable - Are there bullets, headers, short paragraphs?
• Action clear - Does the recipient know what (if anything) they need to do?
• Jargon check - Will the audience understand all terminology?
• Tone appropriate - Is it professional but not cold?
• Proofread - Any typos or unclear phrasing?

Related Resources

• references/email-templates.md - Ready-to-use email templates by type
• references/meeting-structures.md - Structures for standups, retros, reviews
• references/jargon-simplification.md - Technical-to-plain-language translations

Related Skills

• feedback-conversations - For difficult conversations and feedback delivery
• technical-presentations - For structuring talks and presentations
• /draft-email - Generate emails using these frameworks

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Last Updated: 2025-12-22