Communicative competence has long been acknowledged as a critical engineering skill, and is among the core student learning outcomes for both the ABET and Engineers Canada accreditation boards. We know from workplace surveys and ethnographic studies that engineers spend a tremendous amount of time writing and speaking [1], and that the amount of time spent communicating increases exponentially as engineers move into middle- and upper-management positions. And yet, surveys of hiring managers consistently suggest that the communication skills of new hires are lacking, that these skills are critical considerations in both hiring and promotion, and that remediating these skills is expensive. As a report by the National Commission on Writing indicated more than a decade ago, these issues are by no means unique to engineering [2]; however, given the central role of the engineer in engaging in work with real consequences for public health and safety, the importance of communication skills in engineering fields is greatly magnified-and greatly scrutinized during times of crisis and disaster.
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