Effective Communication Skills for Scientific and Technical Professionals

Rating:
Summary: common sense
Review: I had to buy this book for a class and all I can say is that this book is common sense.

"Don't use demeaning language when talking to your coworkers".

It is also full of meaningless corporate buzzwords:

"Don't engage in postmeeting negative criticism frenzies."

Rating:
Summary: STP Book
Review: In the past, I always believed I was a good communicator, yet many times I would get a "look" from others that told me they were not with me. So, I purchased the Communication Skills for Scientific and Technical People. Since I am a computer programmer and frequently find myself in situations that need very clear instruction this book fit right into my needs. It was great! What I learned cannot be counted in monetary value and I know that I will continue to use the techniques in my everyday enounters with my peers as well as on a personal level. Thank you Mr. Chambers for your insight and direction.

Rating:
Summary: STP Book
Review: In the past, I always believed I was a good communicator, yet many times I would get a "look" from others that told me they were not with me. So, I purchased the Communication Skills for Scientific and Technical People. Since I am a computer programmer and frequently find myself in situations that need very clear instruction this book fit right into my needs. It was great! What I learned cannot be counted in monetary value and I know that I will continue to use the techniques in my everyday enounters with my peers as well as on a personal level. Thank you Mr. Chambers for your insight and direction.

Rating:
Summary: Job Success is Often Contingent Upon Social Skills
Review: It is estimated that 85% of job success is contingent upon social skills. Harry E. Chambers' book, Effective Communication Skills for Scientific and Technical Professionals, has illuminated the very essence of social skills that managers need in order to lead well. This book absolutely captures very specific skills that are necessary for technical and scientific professionals to lead well.

It is a fact that individual technical and scientific professionals have great intelligence. But without social intelligence, an intellectually gifted leader may fail. An organization usually cannot reach its highest potential when its individuals work in conflict and without interdependence. Mr. Chamber's book is THE book to buy for its specific, insightful, and pertinent information to assist technical managers in gaining a much higher level of leadership competence.

Rating:
Summary: Job Success is Often Contingent Upon Social Skills
Review: It is estimated that 85% of job success is contingent upon social skills. Harry E. Chambers' book, Effective Communication Skills for Scientific and Technical Professionals, has illuminated the very essence of social skills that managers need in order to lead well. This book absolutely captures very specific skills that are necessary for technical and scientific professionals to lead well.

It is a fact that individual technical and scientific professionals have great intelligence. But without social intelligence, an intellectually gifted leader may fail. An organization usually cannot reach its highest potential when its individuals work in conflict and without interdependence. Mr. Chamber's book is THE book to buy for its specific, insightful, and pertinent information to assist technical managers in gaining a much higher level of leadership competence.

Rating:
Summary: Preaching to the Choir
Review: This book may have valuable content, but its tone is demaning and insulting to its target audience. Perhaps if the reader was a manager, a marketing executive, or a proffersor teaching communication, this book would reaffirm their beliefs on what a technical person ought to want. But if you are like me, a young engineer trying to become a better communicator, this book will serve to anger you and nothing else.
It fails to follow its own advice and makes use of many "you statements". Replaced quickly with refferences to "an STP" in place of "you". It tries to tell the reader what they should want and not want. It added to my "Us vs. Them" mentality (which I though I had little of before).

For a book that actually writes for its intended audience (not for people who wish the intended audience would read the book), try :
"Why Don't You Want What I Want?" by Rick Maur
or "How to Speak, How to Listen" by Mortimer J. Adler

For written communication there are plenty of books with more proffesional and less insulting styles.

Rating:
Summary: Preaching to the Choir
Review: While dealing with scientific and technical professionals (STPs, he labels them) during his management career, Harry Chambers recognized that many of his colleagues were not able to share their expertise clearly enough, whether they were writing and speaking to their counterparts, or whether they were addressing people beyond their areas. So he wrote this book as a guideline for the STPs. I applaud Chambers' writing style--competent enough to please an educated audience, yet folksy enough to illustrate that stuffiness isn't required for explaining complicated ideas. The book underscores the widely accepted observation that people who get promoted because of their expertise may score very poorly when they try to manage a team. To equip STPs for management, Chambers offers advice about how to relate well to your boss, develop listening skills, serve customers, direct meetings, give and receive critism, and other vital topics. As a former university faculty member, I vote for placing this book in every campus library, and making it required reading for those pursuing the B.S. degree. To STPs who have their degrees already, I suggest that Effective Communication Skills for Scientific and Technical Professionals merits your close study. Although Chambers admits that "becoming a highly skilled communicator is not easy," this book makes the assignment easier.