After years of working with engineering teams, I’ve learned that systems rarely fail because of code alone — they fail because people stop communicating clearly under stress. Small misunderstandings pile up, assumptions turn into architecture, and teams ship features no one fully understands. This talk breaks down the hidden “communication debt” that quietly shapes technical decisions and creates long-term fragility in software. We’ll explore real patterns from high-pressure environments: misaligned mental models, silent blockers, design-by-interpretation, and the feedback loops that freeze delivery. You’ll learn practical techniques to surface problems early, align decisions faster, and reduce rework without adding meetings or process bloat. If your team has ever shipped something that “worked on my machine” but failed everywhere else, this session gives you the tools to fix the root cause — not the symptom. (~960 characters)