Effective communication is hard.

But communication is a two way street. What works for one person might not work for another.

I know some people who need information to be delivered quick and concise. Personally, I like having extra context, and that shows in how I communicate. I’m the kind of person who gives you paragraphs if you ask for advice. Partially because I care and want to help, but also because my version of effective communication reduces the amount of back and forths.

Through coop, I’ve learned to compromise. I’ll shorten my message and add a tldr or bullet list of todos. The context is there to reduce ambiguity, but the main message shines clearly. As I get to know other’s communication styles, I further adapt to them.

Communication will never start perfect, but I believe we can get there. It just takes time, reflection, and the realization that your manager doesn’t need to know how you fixed the bug. He just cares that you saved him thousands of dollars :)

Some more of my thoughts written at a different time:

Personally, I enjoy having context. Some people like messages to be quick and concise. I like context because it enables me to make my own judgements about a situation and reduces the need for back and forth if I have follow-up questions. I've always been a reader, so perhaps larger blocks of text don't intimidate me much. In my mind, optimal communication has 2 (optionally 3) components.

First, the context. Everything needed to understand where the message is coming from. In many scenarios, this context is implicit, like when your boss tells you to fix your PR. He doesn't have to explain which PR and why, because you know that someone left a review on a PR and you'll understand the why once you check.

Second is a tldr. Something short at the end to summarize the most important information that should be taken away. Optionally, I like having one point (or a bullet list) about todos. Given the context, what needs to be done? Keep it short and action-oriented, like "Let me know if any changes are required to _". The tldr and this optional point can have overlap, but I've run into situations where they exist independently. The tldr might even say "I've encountered 5 blockers and left tasks for everyone in this message chain. Once all of the above requests have been completed, I will send a completed draft".

I've found that most people simply prefer knowing where their input/action is needed. I'm sure that as I get busier in work, I'll value conciseness just as much.