In the 20 or so years since I joined the tech community, I moved from an attitude of "please leave me alone in my cube to code and whatever you do, don't talk to me" to giving talks on the importance of communication in the software world. The collaboration tools and techniques we've all come to know and love have changed over time, but a few things have remained constant.
1) Communicating openly and honestly can be HARD
2) Speaking from a place of vulnerability is RIDICULOUSLY HARD
3) Without 1 and 2 you're going to really struggle to be an effective and happy member or leader

OK, there's a 4th thing.
4) The days of working alone in your cube or office like a hermit are largely over for software folks. It really doesn't have to be painful. I swear it doesn’t.

During this session, we're going to rumble with some tough topics and I'll share some of my own embarrassing and enlightening stumbles. It will include things like delivering “bad news” to clients, end-users, or managers and feeling really good about it, managing conflict with team members in healthy and productive ways, and delivering feedback without feeling like you (or the receiver) will vomit. These things are all very possible, and not that hard to master once you have some key tools and insights in your tool belt.