by Olivia Augustin | Aug 10, 2026 | Technical English
Quick answer: skip the passive voice in technical English. It’s harder to interpret for non-native readers, and in engineering, a misread instruction isn’t just an awkward sentence. It’s a safety risk. You probably learned the opposite at school....
by Olivia Augustin | Aug 3, 2026 | Guest Interview
A few weeks ago I was scrolling through LinkedIn and came across a post that stopped me. Not because it said something new but because someone had written down something I say to engineers every single week, almost word for word. The only difference? This person...
by Olivia Augustin | Jul 31, 2026 | Communication at Work
Clients ask me to translate their documents all the time. A tender specification, a contract, a technical manual. The logic makes sense to them: I already work with their team on their English, so why not hand me the German or Dutch version too? I always say no. Not...
by Olivia Augustin | Jul 17, 2026 | Confidence & Fluency
Your accent is not the problem. If you’re a non-native English speaker working in international engineering, chances are you’ve worried about it at least once. In a meeting, on a call with stakeholders, maybe right before you have to present. The thought...
by Olivia Augustin | Jul 1, 2026 | Confidence & Fluency
You already know you should practise your English more. You also know that opening a grammar textbook after a full day of engineering work is not going to happen. So here is a more honest approach: watch TV. Not instead of studying. Not as a guilty pleasure you have...
