how developers can build better communication

Every developer knows the struggle: a stubborn bug that keeps coming back even after multiple fixes. You solved the symptoms, but not the root cause. The exact same thing happens in communication. In our daily work we talk to teammates, product owners, and sometimes customers. Too often, we half-listen, assume what the other person “must mean,” and jump to a quick reply. The result? Misunderstandings, frustration, and endless discussions that feel like wrestling with legacy spaghetti code.

This talk explores how the debugging mindset can be applied to human interaction. Just as you analyze logs, test hypotheses, and dive deep to find the true cause of a bug, you can also learn to listen more carefully in conversations. This practice, called deep listening, fits surprisingly well with the skills developers already use in their technical work.

We will translate this mindset into three practical tools that every developer can apply tomorrow:
• Summarizing and reflecting back to avoid noise and false assumptions.
• Checking assumptions so you don’t waste time fixing the wrong problem.
• Allowing silence to uncover the real message beneath the words.

This is not just another “soft skill” talk, but a set of hands-on techniques that directly improve your effectiveness as a developer. You’ll see how these skills make code reviews smoother, stand-ups clearer, backlog refinement more productive, and technical discussions less draining. By the end of the session, you’ll walk away with concrete tips and tricks you can use immediately. The result: fewer communication bugs, stronger trust, and a team that collaborates as seamlessly as well-structured code.