Why One Size Doesn’t Fit All in Engineering Communication

As engineers, we love abstraction and reusability. So creating multiple versions of the same message for different audiences can feel like violating DRY. Why repeat yourself? But framing communication per audience isn’t duplication, it’s optimization.

Think of it like designing a REST API: different endpoints expose the same underlying data, but each tailored to the client's specific needs. Junior engineers want the stack trace and the fix. Senior engineers care about architectural trade-offs. Product managers need value impact and delivery timelines. Leadership? They want alignment to strategy and risk mitigations. One-size-fits-all messaging leads to misunderstandings and disengagement.

Yes, it feels like extra work. But it pays dividends: fewer meetings, faster decisions, and more trust.

Some engineers dread this "non-coding" part. They’d rather go deep on distributed systems than build stakeholder bridges. But in environments that value ownership end-to-end, this adaptability is the real growth enabler. Framing is not just a soft skill, it’s a force multiplier. If you want your work to ship at scale, learn to speak every stakeholder’s language. Build systems, but also build shared understanding.

Because great ideas don’t sell themselves. You do.

💡Steps worth taking:

• Tailor your communication to your audience; clarity unlocks alignment.

• Use technical depth where it matters, and strategic context where it counts.

• Treat communication like API design: same underlying data, many tailored endpoints.

Did this article give you a new perspective on how to communicate more effectively at work?