Sometimes it’s hard for companies with complicated stories and technologies to simplify. This happens for several reasons, including culture, ego, myopia and fear. If it’s your job to make techy spokespersons more effective communicators, consider a few of these techniques:
- Engineers typically dominate technology company cultures. They often assume everyone is on their intellectual wavelength and can follow along. Help them see the light when communicating with less technical people. Less is more, simple is better.
- For some folks, it’s a trip knowing subject matter no one else can fathom. Keeping it complicated = self preservation or ego gratification. As the owner of communications within your company, patiently teach them the benefits of taking one for the team and forsaking complexity.
- Most people want the straight scoop: fast & clean. They don’t have all day. Build bridges of comprehension; analogies and metaphors are helpful.
- While your executives spend most of their time thinking about their business, others don’t. Enlighten them. Explain why they need to frame discussions, acknowledge the larger ecosystem surrounding their company and take the time to simply explain.
- Some spokespersons believe speaking simply is a mistake because it will trigger misinterpretation, inaccuracy and sells short a complex, multi-faceted story. Educate them that the objective of communicating isn’t to cross every “t” and dot every “i” in a pattern of boring thoroughness. It's to make certain the person is enlightened, informed and engaged in a way that makes him/her want to share their viewpoints with others … ideally in-person and online.
- Some people are arrogant and/or impatient. They want to say what they want to say, the way they want to say it. They haven’t read Dale Carnegie’s classic “How to Win Friends & Influence People.” Help them understand why a self-focused approach yields significant missed opportunity.
- Making complicated topics readily understandable is an art ... an art that thankfully be learned. Here are a few techy examples:
- Instead of saying, “This new LED is available in a multitude of sizes ranging from a diminutive 280 µm to 350 µm,” say “These new LEDs are smaller than a grain of sand.”
- Instead of saying, “Implement IEEE 802.15.4 2.4 GHz radio frequency wireless ZigBee sensor networks to enable devices to interface with each other,” say “Easily cast wireless sensory networks around structures like an invisible tactile spider web.”
- Instead of saying, “A hardware device with an RS 232 command line interface that enables HD video over coaxial cable,” say “A box that lets you broadcast any online content on your high def TV.”
It hit home with me in 3 very specific ways.
1) I did my undergrad at GA Tech as a business major and even though I was not knee-deep in engineering I did still have to take Computer Science and some Industrial Engineering courses. Unfortunately GT professors have not entirely mastered "less techy" communication skills. I would love to send your blog to the engineering staff (and some awfully arrogant students!) at GT.
2) On the flip-side of that, I am now at an organization - in a research role where I work very closely with our IT team. More specifically I have worked very closely with our guy that develops the database management software (filemaker). When I first met Filemaker I hated it but now that I learned how to speak it's language - I am obsessed with it! What you said about metaphors and analogies is right on the money! I was able to understand how certain tables and fields relate and/or depend on one another because it was explained to me as: "these tables are best friends so they place nice and do everything together...but those tables hate each other and NEVER hangout, these are dating and could break-up...etc"...I realize it sounds silly but it worked great for me.
3) I was a speaker at the SMX show in San Francisco earlier this year and 9/10 presentations I watched, nearly had me bored to tears, for the very reasons you discuss in your post. Which made that 1/10 all the more interesting, engaging and just plain comprehensible.
Awesome post! Coming from a non-techy person that works/has worked with techy people often, this is spot-on!!!