Examples of communication

[ActSciMan]

You always hear that communication is one of the most important skills for an actuary. So, would those of you who are already working explain what type of communication you do on a regular basis at work? And, perhaps you could also give an example of something where you went beyond what you normally do, e.g., maybe you had to present to the CEO of the company.

Thanks

[Irish Blues]

Three perfect examples:

1. Written documentation. Actuaries are notoriously terrible at this when it comes to "how did you do this?" If you can document the steps in completing a project and make it as clear as possible, it's a huge help for anyone else that has to do it.

2. Oral and written communication. You may know what your work says; however, you need to be able to effectively and concisely communicate that to others. People don't want to hear you stammer for 5 minutes about what you did, waiting for you to get to your conclusion - state your conclusion and what it means for the target audience, then explain how you arrived at the conclusion without getting bogged down in details.

This is especially true when communicating with senior management; they get bombarded with hundreds of e-mails a day and are tied up in meetings; they don't have time to sift through your e-mail or listen to your speech to get the message you're trying to send. State what you want them to hear [or what they're asking to know] and then build from there by explaining your work or answering the questions they've raised.

3. Information sharing - you may know how to do something, or you may have discovered how to do something better. If you don't share that information with others, it's not going to help anyone; you need to make sure you effectively share information for the benefit of both yourself and others. That includes being able to write, speak, and document effectively.