Engineerspeak – translation skills between teams

Speaker: Bri Hatch

Room: HC 108

Time: Sat 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Format: Lecture (30 Min + Q&A)

Difficulty: Introductory

Track: Random

Presenter Location: In-person

Experience: umpteenth time speaking

Description:

To non‑engineers, geeks often sound like a chorus of doom. When we say a codebase is “complete garbage,” we’re usually describing a tiny deviation from technical excellence — but sales and marketing may hear catastrophe and start polishing their résumés. This talk explores the dialect of Engineerspeak: why technical minds gravitate toward edge cases, minutiae, and blunt honesty, and how that communication style can create friction across teams.

Bri breaks down how to bridge the gap between technical rigor and organizational communication without sacrificing integrity. Expect humor, horror stories, and a healthy dose of self‑deprecation as we examine how to optimize one of the buggiest interfaces in any company: the one between teams.

Target Audience:

Anyone who interacts across the geek / non‑geek border