# How Communication Affects the Outcomes of Quality Activities

- Show: [Global Medical Device Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast)
- Published: 2023-02-23
- Length: 48m
- Episode: 307
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-02-23-how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities
- Listen: https://podcast.greenlight.guru/episode/how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities

## Summary

Lesley Worthington, a quality and regulatory expert with 20 years of experience and a law degree, joins host Etienne Nichols to discuss how communication impacts quality activities in the medical device industry. They explore why technical professionals struggle with clear writing, the dangers of jargon, and the importance of tailoring communication to the audience, from shop floor workers to regulators. Worthington argues that clear, human-centered writing improves audit outcomes, reduces errors, and builds a stronger quality culture than rigid, academic-style documentation.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-02-23-how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities#t=0) Introduction: Lesley Worthington and the Challenge of Quality Communication
- [4:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-02-23-how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities#t=292) Why Quality Professionals Struggle with Clear Writing
- [7:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-02-23-how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities#t=453) The Dangers of Jargon and Adapting to the Audience
- [11:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-02-23-how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities#t=702) Cognitive Science: Passive Voice, Chunking, and Attention Spans
- [18:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-02-23-how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities#t=1135) Writing for Audits: Intent vs. Legalese
- [27:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-02-23-how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities#t=1645) Formatting, Visuals, and Global Communication
- [33:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-02-23-how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities#t=2012) Building Quality Culture and Handling Feedback

## Topics

- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Certification & compliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/certification-and-compliance)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- Greenlight Guru (company)
- FDA (other)
- LinkedIn (other)
- Greenlight Guru Academy (other)
- MedTech Excellence Community (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [020- "The Right Words" with Kathy Walsh](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2022-02-16-020-the-right-words-with-kathy-walsh) (Let's Combinate)
- [102 - Human Error, Doing Quality Differently, Defining Accountability, Written Human Guidance, Blue Line vs. Black Line and Categorizing Deviations with Amy Wilson and Cliff Berry](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2023-09-13-102-human-error-doing-quality-differently-defining-accountability-written-human) (Let's Combinate)
- [215 - Why Aren’t Technical People Leading Drug-Device Audits?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-11-26-215-why-arent-technical-people-leading-drug-device-audits) (Let's Combinate)
- [071 - Steel Industry to MedTech & Important Quality Systems with Etienne Nichols](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2023-02-08-071-steel-industry-to-medtech-important-quality-systems-with-etienne-nichols) (Let's Combinate)
- [S1E17 Precise Speech, Customer Success, & General Engineering Love | Jesseca Lyons](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-06-26-s1e17-precise-speech-customer-success-general-engineering-love-jesseca-lyons) (Being an Engineer)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-02-23-how-communication-affects-the-outcomes-of-quality-activities. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Global Medical Device Podcast.