Professional communication and Clarity

 

Professional communication & Clarity

The main objective of this lesson plan is to learn :

• Structuring explanation of technical workflows.
• Communicating expectations to subcontractors effectively.
• Rewrite ambiguous or unclear emails.

Speaking:

• In your job, what makes a technical explanation clear or unclear?

• When giving instructions to a subcontractor, what do you pay attention to?

• Why is precision especially important in aerospace industrialization?

• What problems arise when expectations are not clear?

• Which types of ambiguity are most common when working with subcontractors?
• What vocabulary do you find difficult when explaining manufacturing steps in English?

Reading comprehension 

Situation 1: Clear vs. Unclear Technical Instructions

In a complex aerospace supply chain, clarity in communication is essential. Engineers who request industrialization deliverables must ensure that their instructions are precise, structured, and complete. Clear instructions typically follow a logical sequence: they explain the purpose of the task, provide the technical requirements, and then define expected outputs and deadlines.

Unclear instructions often contain missing information, inconsistent terminology, or vague expressions such as “as soon as possible” or “do the necessary.” When subcontractors receive ambiguous guidance, they may deliver incomplete work, use the wrong configuration, or misunderstand priority levels. This leads to delays, additional validation time, and unnecessary rework.

To avoid these issues, program managers should confirm understanding through written summaries, ask for missing details early, and use standardized templates. By using direct but professional language, teams can ensure smoother collaboration and reduce risks linked to miscommunication.

Comprehension Questions

1. What are the typical components of clear instructions?
   
   

2. What problems can result from unclear instructions?
   
   

3. What are some examples of vague expressions mentioned in the reading?
   
   

4. How can teams avoid misunderstandings in technical communication?
   
   

👉Do you see similar problems with subcontractors in your current role?

Unclear message

I saw the file and it’s not right. The thing about the dimensions needs doing again. Also the supplier info isn’t complete and we don’t know if the last update was used. Please fix it and send it back soon because people are waiting for it.

How do you improve the clarity of this message?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Possible Response

During the review of the file X, we identified two issues: (1) the dimensioning update was not applied correctly, and (2) the supplier section is incomplete, particularly the reference to the latest revision. To proceed with validation, please update the dimensions and complete the supplier information, then resend the corrected file by 03 April, as several stakeholders are waiting for this deliverable.

Situation 2

Feedback on an Industrialization Package 

During the validation of the front fuselage industrialization package, the review team

identified several areas that may require attention. It appears that the geometry for the

forward frames is not fully aligned with the latest configuration. There also seems to be

a discrepancy in the material call-out for Part 22B, which could potentially impact

manufacturing readiness.

In addition, the process sheet refers to an outdated revision of the technical specification.

We might need clarification on whether the subcontractor intended to use the previous

version or whether this was an oversight.

While these issues are not blocking, addressing them now would help ensure a smoother

validation phase. A small update to the documentation and geometry file would be

appreciated.

Comprehension Questions

1. Which issues are mentioned?
   
   

2. Which hedging phrases are used?
   
   

3. Why is the reviewer using hedging instead of direct criticism?
   
   

4. What tone does the text create?

 Listening Practice

Let's watch a video by Matt Brickwood who is explaining the complete software development process in 5 minutes.

Video

Grammar point

Hedging & Softening for Diplomacy 

Used when giving criticism, requesting changes, or correcting subcontractors.

👉Useful structures:

• It appears that…
  
  

• There seems to be an issue with…
  
  

• We may need to revisit…
  
  

• It would be helpful if you could…
  
  

• You might want to consider…

• We have noticed a potential inconsistency in…

• There may be a misunderstanding regarding…

👉Polite requests

• Would it be possible to…?
  
  

• Could you clarify whether…?
  
  

• We would appreciate it if you could…
  
  

👉 Uncertainty/precision

• This could potentially impact…
  
  

• We might need to review…
  
  

• This may require additional validation…
  
  

👉Minimizing imposed work

• A small adjustment may be needed…
  
  

• You may want to consider updating…

Why important?

It prevents conflict, softens feedback, and maintains professionalism.

Exercise

Transform these direct statements

1. You sent the wrong file.
   
   

2. Your work is late.
   
   

3. You didn’t follow the new specification.
   
   

4. Your deliverable is incomplete.
   
   

Possible Statements

It seems the file we received may not be the most recent version. We’ve noticed a slight delay compared to the original plan. There appears to be a mismatch with the latest specification. It looks like a few elements of the deliverable may be missing.

❓Direct Email 

You need to fix your file. It has errors and we cannot validate anything. Send the corrected version quickly.

Can you rewrite using hedging and clarity?

……………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………

Answer:

It seems that the file contains a few inconsistencies, which makes the validation process difficult at this stage. When you have a moment, could you please share a revised version?

Sequencing & Structuring Processes

Key structures

• First, we…
  
  

• Then/Next, we…
  
  

• After that, we…
  
  

• Finally, we…
  
  

• Once X is completed, we…
  
  

• Before doing X, we…
  
  

• When X happens, Y follows.

Useful Reporting Verbs (Essential for validation & feedback)

We mostly use say /tell 

clarify, confirm, emphasize, highlight, indicate, acknowledge, recommend, request, specify, outline

Nominalization

What is Nominalization?

Nominalization is where you turn verbs or adjectives into nouns to make your language more formal, concise, and professional.

It is widely used in:

• engineering
  
  

• aerospace documentation
  
  

• technical reports
  
  

• quality reviews
  
  

• standard operating procedures

• email communication

Verb → Noun

• validate → validation
  
  

• review → review
  
  

• deliver → delivery
  
  

• evaluate → evaluation
  
  

• update → update
  
  

• decide → decision
  
  

Adjective → Noun

• consistent → consistency
  
  

• compliant → compliance
  
  

• efficient → efficiency

• clear → clarity

Examples:

1.We checked the geometry and saw inconsistencies.

→ The review of the geometry revealed several inconsistencies.

2. We need to update the drawing.

→ An update of the drawing is required.

3. They validated the deliverable yesterday.

→ The validation of the deliverable was completed yesterday.

4. They analyzed the material properties.

→ An analysis of the material properties was conducted.

Excercise

1. We checked the electrical routing.

2. They will check the dimensions tomorrow.

3. We are reviewing the geometry.

Answers

→ A check of the electrical routing was completed.

→ A check of the dimensions will be performed tomorrow

→ A review of the geometry is in progress

Important Tip

Check = verify a specific parameter.
Review = analyze a complete document or dataset.

Do you have any questions regarding Nominalisation, please feel free to ask me in the comments section 👇