Communication: The Skill Every Developer Needs

Soft skills go hand in hand with hard skills. In software development, you'll work with people—whether they're teammates or stakeholders. No matter how technically sound you are, if people find it difficult to communicate with you, you become a blocker.

Communication isn't black and white. Just as you once didn't know how to communicate with computers through programming languages but can now do it fluently, communication with people is the same—it's a skill you can nourish and improve.

I recently attended a free webinar by Vinh Giang, an expert communication and public speaking coach. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay until the end, but what I learned was exceptional. I'm decent at communication, but everything he said made a lot of sense.

I took extensive notes, but like any free webinar or podcast I attend, I prefer to take one actionable thing from it—something I can practice consistently through spaced learning. That one thing was the PARA framework.

The PARA Framework

PARA stands for: Point, Action, Result, Ask

Instead of rambling or sounding robotic, use this framework to make your communication fluent and natural:

1. 
   Point – Start with your main point


2. 
   Action – State what action was taken


3. 
   Result – Share the outcome


4. 
   Ask – End with a question or statement that encourages follow-up

This approach makes conversations smooth and engaging, opening doors to promotions, connections, and opportunities.

A Real-World Example

Picture this: You're in a war room with the entire software department. The system is down, time is ticking, and after an hour, the VP of Tech asks, "What's the problem?"

Everyone's silent. No one's had time to debug—except you. You checked the logs and identified the issue. Now, how do you communicate it?

Without PARA, you'd be all over the place—nervous, with stakeholders watching your every word.

With PARA, you deliver confidently:

Point → "I reviewed the logs before joining this meeting."

Action → "I identified multiple places where this issue may be originating."

Result → "I'll work with my team to tackle each root cause and resolve the problem."

Ask → "Would you like a status update when we resolve this, along with our plan to prevent it from recurring?"

Boom. None of the stakeholders in that room will forget your name.

The PARA framework is an excellent tool for technical communication. I highly recommend attending Vinh Giang's free webinar—communication is a crucial skill to develop as a software engineer.