I sat in a meeting today where a developer kept droning on… and on. and on… It would’ve been great if we were meeting to discuss system specs, in the context of software development. But, we weren’t. It was a business-driven meeting.

As a student of all things start-ups, I’ve noticed lately that many software developers have a horribly boring habit of rambling. And, as an engineer, I understand the premium put on being exact. On communicating every last detail, and getting every angle of a problem across.

But, man. Some people, they just don’t notice when the eyes in the room start glazing over.

As a profession, engineers are widely heralded as being comprised primarily of introverts. But, somehow we suck at delivering short, well-timed, and accurate answers. It really seems that being concise is just not in our nature as engineers.

But, it has to be. Because it shows credibility and professionalism. And, your co-workers will be appreciate it.

Next time you’re in a meeting, and you’re given the talking stick, try the following. Take a deep breath. Think about the context of the discussion. Think about what you know about the person who is asking you the question. If you know the answer, position it clearly and summarize it concisely in 2 or 3 sentences or less. Don’t worry about being 100% exact. People will ask follow-up questions if they need to. If you don’t know the answer, it’s okay to just simply state that you’ll get back to them.

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