If someone asked me the difference between highly skilled professionals across countries, I’d say this:
Technical skills are often excellent, but communication skills are where many professionals struggle.
Let’s start with the simplest thing—email.
The Email Problem
For some people, replying to an email is like making a grand entrance at a conference—you delay it just to appear more important.
You send an email, and after a week you get a one-word reply: “Noted.”
Now, think about the sender. While waiting, they might be overthinking: “Did I write something wrong? Did I upset my manager? Should I re-read my three-line email 25 times to check for mistakes?”
Here’s a healthier practice:
- If an email reply takes less than five minutes, reply within five minutes.
- If you’re busy, reply the same day.
- When forwarding with “FYI,” take an extra minute to add context—it saves confusion.
- And please, don’t CC the entire world. It creates a bystander effect: “Oh, someone else will handle it.” In the end, nobody does.
And tone matters. Too often, emails read like they’re dressed in a stiff suit and ready for a courtroom. Instead, write with warmth and clarity. Even when you’re delivering tough feedback, write it in a way that the person can still sleep peacefully after reading it.
One more thing: unless it’s life or death, don’t send work emails at midnight. The world won’t stop spinning if your email waits until morning, but you might ruin someone’s family evening.
The Verbal Communication Problem
Emails aren’t the only issue. Verbal communication can be equally challenging.
Many people keep half their thoughts in their heads instead of saying them clearly. If you can’t explain something in one minute, chances are you won’t explain it in an hour either.
And there’s often too much concern about “What will they think if I say this clearly?”
But communication isn’t about guessing feelings—it’s about clarity. Water should be water. A pumpkin should be a pumpkin. If you mix the two, you end up with confusion.
For example, if you need to step out of the office for an hour, just say it openly. Don’t create a complicated story to justify it. Half-truths usually unravel and cause embarrassment later.
Another common trap: while listening, instead of focusing on what the other person is saying, we’re busy preparing our response. That’s not communication—that’s waiting to reply.
The Right Dose
At the end of the day, communication is like medicine—the right dose brings healing, but the wrong dose causes harm.
So here’s the bottom line:
- Answer emails with clarity and respect.
- Keep verbal communication honest and straightforward.
- Listen more, and respond less.
Because no matter how strong your technical expertise is, if your communication fails, your impact will always be limited.