Communication Articles

We’re curious people by nature. And we love to teach others what we’ve learned. So explore our blog to gain fresh insights from our expertise in areas ranging from culture to AI.

SEP Wins TechPoint’s 2024 Innovation Service Partner of the Year Mira Award

SEP Recognized as Indiana’s Top Innovation Service Partner, Winning TechPoint’s Prestigious Mira Award Westfield, Indiana - SEP has been named the Innovation Service Partner of the Year by TechPoint at the 25th annual Mira Awards. The Mira Awards, Indiana’s largest…
Read Full Post

Mind the Empathy Gap: 3 ways to stay empathetic as you level up

The title of this post references the iconic phrase from the London Underground, “Mind the gap.” It’s used to warn passengers about the gap between the train and the station platform.  Although hazardous, the gap for these travelers is a natural part of the journey. This post is about another travel hazard, one that I […]
Read Full Post

My Favorite Tool That I Struggle With

What tool do I use more often than any other, often while using other tools? What tool am I certain can be an aid in solving almost any problem, if used properly? What tool do I struggle with the most, even though I probably complain about other tools much more often? What tool have I […]
Read Full Post
group meeting close up of hands on table taking notes

Beware of Solving Things Yourself

There’s one recurring thing I’ve seen new hires at SEP struggle with over the years. Most commonly, this is something we see in hires that are fresh out of college, but sometimes it shows itself in hires that come to us with years of experience in the industry. While we try to eliminate it in our new […]
Read Full Post

Failure is Part of Success

I did my tenth Toastmasters speech today which fulfill the requirements for a Competent Communicator Award Here is the speech: “Thomas Edison once said, I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. What he is referring to is a cost effective Electric light bulb. He tried 10,000 times to make it […]
Read Full Post

How to [Fail to] Get a Job at SEP

When we go to college career fairs, professors will often ask us to come give talks to their classes about something useful. After one of these requests, I was contemplating giving a talk on “How to Get a Job at SEP” (due to some of the experiences that day). Given that it is unlikely I’ll […]
Read Full Post

Plain language

“Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind.” – Cicero This is the basis of Plain Language.  The goal is to write documents (emails, web pages, manuals, proposals, etc) in an everyday language, without waffle, jargon, or ambiguity, so that the reader can easily find and understand the information […]
Read Full Post

You Won’t Know, If You Never Ask…

I was recently copied on an email thread where some requirements were discussed between a project lead (Bob) and the client (Fred). (FYI – the names are made up) Bob asked Fred about a specific requirement that read (paraphrased): The Error Indicator should display every 60 seconds. My next task was to add this indicator […]
Read Full Post

Patterns for Getting Your Ideas Heard

Here at SEP, we have some pretty awesome engineer-led sessions…book clubs, academy courses, and [brown bags](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_bag_seminar) (just to name a few).  Recently, I gave a brown bag on a topic that I am excited about – getting your ideas heard.  I wanted to give this brown bag for a few reasons- I heard a common theme […]
Read Full Post