In this blog post, I’ll examine the problems that arise in the way engineering students communicate, explore their causes, and discuss ways to improve them.
Not long ago, I went out for drinks with some friends from middle school. Whenever I go to gatherings like this, there’s one comment I always hear: “You’re an engineering student, but you don’t really come across as one.” When I ask, “What does ‘acting like an engineering student’ even mean?” the reply is always, “You can tell just by the way you talk.” In fact, I know exactly what that means. When talking with engineering students, the conversation mostly revolves around topics anyone can discuss—such as their major, military service, or dating. As a result, the conversation doesn’t last long, and even if it does drag on, we often end up repeating the same points. I was the same way during my freshman and sophomore years in college, and to avoid hearing that I “only talk like an engineering student,” I analyzed the root causes and secretly put in a lot of effort to fix the problem.
What’s clear from the example above and my countless experiences over the years is that there’s a distinct difference—or at least distinguishable characteristics—in the way engineering majors converse with those majoring in the humanities. This difference isn’t a major issue in an environment centered solely on engineering. After all, as an engineering student, I can easily discuss topics related to my major, and anyone can share thoughts on everyday subjects. However, problems arise in situations where they must converse with people majoring in other fields or those from diverse backgrounds. In business meetings or when building relationships with professionals from other fields, conversations must center on topics of interest to the other party rather than their own major. These topics are likely to include politics, economics, culture, and philosophy—areas in which many engineering students have relatively few opportunities to engage. Therefore, I intend to analyze the specific causes of this phenomenon and explore ways to overcome it by comparing it with my own experiences.
The most pressing issue is that engineering students lack topics with which to develop a conversation. Conversation is a process of exchanging opinions centered on a specific topic. Without a topic, it is difficult to even start a conversation, and even if one does begin, it is hard to maintain it sustainably while fostering mutual understanding. However, it is not easy for engineering students to find the time to acquire knowledge in other fields in order to discuss a wide range of topics. In the Department of Electrical Engineering where I studied, the number of credits required for the major was very high, and even today, many engineering departments operate curricula with a higher proportion of major-specific coursework compared to other disciplines. As a result, there is often a relative lack of time to develop an interest in the humanities and social sciences or to explore new fields. This disparity in time investment can ultimately lead to a gap in knowledge regarding diverse conversation topics.
When there is a lack of conversation topics like this, opportunities to engage with a diverse range of people naturally diminish. Conversation is built on understanding and empathy toward others. In other words, the more you converse, the more naturally your ability to understand and empathize with others develops. However, without such experience, you may feel confident discussing topics within your area of expertise—that is, your major—but struggle to engage in conversations about subjects outside your major, such as politics, economics, philosophy, or literature. Ultimately, as this situation repeats itself, one tends to avoid diverse conversations, creating a vicious cycle that leads back to a lack of conversation topics.
The final issue to mention lies not only in the topics that drive the conversation but also in the manner of conversation itself. This problem stems from the fact that the nature of engineering as a discipline differs from that of other fields. In engineering, the consequences of choices are relatively clear, and there is a strong tendency to place greater importance on the final result than on the process of moving toward the goal. For example, let’s compare research critiquing Sartre’s existentialist philosophy with research aimed at improving the search speed of a database program. In the former case, how the critique is conducted is more important than whether Sartre’s philosophy can be criticized; therefore, diverse perspectives and the exchange of opinions with others hold significant importance. In contrast, in the latter case, if the search speed is actually improved, the research objective has been achieved; thus, obtaining the desired result is valued more highly than the process used to reach it. In such research, exchanging opinions with others or engaging in lengthy conversations is often not a key element. This tendency among engineering students to prioritize results and engage in relatively fewer conversations with others can carry over directly into their everyday conversational style. However, everyday conversations are far more often conducted to share thoughts and empathize with one another rather than to find the “right answer” or predict outcomes. Furthermore, conversation cannot be conducted alone. Ultimately, if the mindset familiar from the field of engineering is applied directly to everyday conversations, the conversations may become brief and leave the other person—who is expecting empathy—feeling frustrated.
Solutions to this issue can be broadly divided into two areas: expanding the range of conversation topics and improving conversational techniques. First, to diversify conversation topics, engineering students themselves must make a consistent effort to build knowledge in other fields. Of course, it is somewhat true that students or researchers majoring in engineering often lack the time to explore other fields. However, rather than giving up due to a lack of time, it is necessary to make an effort to read books on fields of interest during spare moments, observe social and cultural trends, and cultivate an interest in various fields. In my case, as soon as the semester break begins, the first thing I do is select one field I’ve wanted to explore and understand over the past semester. I then seek out and read introductory or foundational books on that subject and make an effort to meet diverse people by participating in related gatherings or lectures. While this is just one example, consistently repeating this process will, before you know it, lead to a much wider variety of conversation topics, and the problem mentioned earlier will be naturally resolved.
These efforts to diversify conversation topics ultimately lead to improvements in communication skills. This is because, through reading books in other fields and interacting with diverse people, you meet individuals from various backgrounds and naturally learn different ways of conversing. Even someone accustomed to short, results-oriented conversations within their own major can, by communicating with people from other fields, recognize the shortcomings of an engineer’s conversational style and learn the effective communication methods used by others. In my case, reading various books on conversation and communication helped me achieve this change more quickly. Books such as ‘The Art of Successful Conversation’ and ‘The Art of Conversation’ are prime examples. These efforts are particularly important if you aim to go beyond simply understanding and empathizing with others to take on the role of facilitating conversations among diverse people. For engineering students who aspire to move beyond the life of a researcher and take on roles in business or in positions where key national policies are decided, these competencies will become vital assets that must be consistently cultivated.
Modern society is an era in which science and technology drive development across all sectors. Our daily lives are already undergoing significant changes based on engineering technology, and the people driving these changes possess not only outstanding technical skills but also the ability to communicate effectively and empathize with others. To play a significant role in this era, engineering students must not only remain dedicated to their own fields of study but also make an effort to engage with diverse cultures and value systems and to understand perspectives different from their own. In this process, dialogue becomes a vital tool for understanding the world and growing together with others. I hope that engineering students will come to recognize the importance of such dialogue more deeply, and I expect that the issues and solutions presented in this blog post will be of some help to those who already feel this need.
