Better Communication with Non-Technical People?

tinpan asks: "I've got a communication problem. When non-technical managers ask me to explain technical choices, they often make choices I recommend against and they later regret. I can tell that they do not understand their choice because of how they are explaining things to each other, but they usually refuse further explanation. So, it's time for some education. I want to get better at communicating technical subjects to non-technical people. More accurately, I want to get better at helping non-technical people make better technical decisions and I'm willing to accept it may include some understanding of 'selling your idea.' What advice do my fellow readers have in accomplishing this? What books, online courses and/or seminars do you recommend and why?"

There may be some formal training but

[LoveMe2Times]

I'm not aware of any training or education specifically designed to help technical people communicate more effectively with non-technical people. You are more specifically interested in communicating with decision makers, which is far more specific than say talking to your family or non-technical friends. Being more specific in some ways makes it easier. I'm guessing that your difficulty lies not so much in not communicating technical details or ideas adequately, but not understanding the decision making process being used. One of my primary job functions is being a liaison between the technical and non-technical sides of the company, and I even talk to customers/partners who know nothing about technology. Point being, I am good at it now--I am complimented on this often--but this was not always so. Meaning that yes, it's something you can get better at.

Given that, here's what I can tell you:

1) Detail is enemy #1. Technical work has lots and lots of details to it, and we often get absorbed in them and like to talk about them. This will ruin your efforts again and again, you *must* train yourself to hold back details unless specifically asked. For example, if somebody asks what an acronym means, you probably shouldn't tell them what it stands for. Also, when pressed for details, try and give only the details relevant to your audience. For example, if somebody asks you what "WebSphere" is, do you tell them:

a) "WebSphere is a proprietary J2EE server. I recommend we go with JBoss instead since it is open source and does everything we need. It's cheaper and easier too."
b) "WebSphere is an IBM product designed for an enterprise computing environment leveraging Java technology. You might use it for serving web pages."
c) "WebSphere is one of many enterprise level, server-side Java solutions. It's a complete J2EE server, supporting all server-side Java standards, like servlets, JSPs, and enterprise java beans. It is intended to provide scalability, robustness, clustering, fail-over, up-time guarantees, and other things expected from an enterprise class product. You might choose it for the same reasons you would choose Oracle over other databases. BEA, Oracle, Sun and JBoss all provide competing products providing almost identical functionality at different price points and service levels."

All three are reasonable answers depending on the context. Does your audience want to hear "cheaper and easier" in (a), "IBM product ... enterprise ... leveraging" in (b), or the particulars about what enterprise-class means and mentioning competitors in (c)?

2) Decision makers often have to make decisions regarding things they do not personally know. As you have observed, this often leads to making sub-optimal decisions. In debate class, relying on an authority rather than having a good argument might get you marked down. In the real world, quoting an authority is often (maybe even usually) more important, as the decision maker might not understand the actual argument. I experienced this repeatedly and to great frustration earlier in my career, where a manager would pretend to listen to me, only to do what a more senior, trusted person recommended. In some cases there will be other hidden agendas, and often times you won't know what the decision makers parameters are. For example, you might recommend Vendor A for price/performance reasons, and the manager chooses Vendor B because B is a "safe" choice and the decision maker is in a difficult position with his or her boss.

3) This leads to: you'll need to understand the chain of command. Often times, the person that you get to talk to does not have the final say. Instead, that person has to sell the decision to other business people and the people who control the purse strings. So in some cases you are educating someone who is really just a champion, not a final decision maker. In this case, you must prep them to d

Listening is the key to effective presentation

[dfoulger]

There are no magic bullets for solving the problem you are dealing with. A lot depends on what your audience is trying to accomplish, what kind of constraints they feel they have to work within, and how much they know about the subject matter. High level managers and executives can't be experts on everything they need to make decisions on. The span of their decision making is to large and their ultimate focus has to be on bottom line issues like controlling costs, building revenue, and delivering on time. Note that none of those things are technical issues.

You may find considerable value in reading a book on making presentations (the kind they use in basic speech courses in college). There are a number of excellent choices out there. I'm particularly fond of Presentations In Everyday Life: Strategies For Effective Speaking [amazon.com], by Engleberg and Daly, because I think their recommendations are well researched. This kind of text is usually a goldmine of organizational strategies for presentations, any one of which may be right depending on the managers you are addressing and the type of recommendations you are trying to make.

The most important chapters in these books (make sure they have them) are the chapters on researching the audience and listening. Hardly anybody really learns how to do these things, but they are the key to making effective presentations to overburdened managers and executives, who often have to make difficult, risky, and expensive decisions based on one or a few ten minute meetings. What you need to find out, before you even walk into the room, are the following things:

• What they are making the decision about. Like as not you already know this (its probably the only thing you already know). But it pays to confirm it by informally networking beforehand. You probably won't be able to get much from the executive or high level manager, but you probably can get useful information from people on their staff.
• The context of the decision. Most recommendations are made within the context of a larger problem (an overarching project, a promise made to the a higher up, a company strategic direction, a specific customer problem, etc). The more you know about the context of the decision, the better you'll be able to customize your recommendation and presentation to the needs of the people you are presenting to, even if you don't mention that context (and its probably best if you don't).
• The decision makers preferred presentation style. I have found that most executives have a preferred presentation style. Some want to see three slides (problem, solution, cost) and only want to hear your preferred recommendation (keep your other possibilities in your pocket as backup). Others want to see a specific set of tables. Most want you to get immediately to the point without justifying your recommendations (they wouldn't have asked you to present if they didn't value your judgment), but be ready to go into detail. They will ask for justification. Some will "blindside" you (well, they think its blindsiding) with aggressive interruptions. The good news is, there will be lots of people who have presented successfully to the manager/executive. Talk to the staff. Talk to other people who've pitched the executive. Customize your presentation to the decision makers preferences and be ready for their ideosyncracies.

Research. Listen. Listen to the staff you ask questions. Listen to the people who've presented. Take notes. Ask questions. Make sure you understand what you hear. I generally recommend that you do each of the following things as you listen:

1. Stop. Don't think about anything else. Get rid of distractions before you start listening.
2. Tend. Focus on the speaker, not just by paying attention, but by looking like you

Good advice (beat me to it :-)

[Avatar8]

I've been in IT 23 years. I've been in Toastmasters six. Toastmasters made the single biggest improvement in my career and my personal skills.

I was comfortable speaking in front of a crowd as long as I was talking about computers and speaking in technical jargon. What didn't occur to me was whether or not the people understood what I was saying.

There are specific items in Toastmasters that will apply directly to what you're seeking. Overall the ability to listen well and speak directly to your audiences' needs regardless of their level of understanding.

Impromptu speaking: the ability to provide an intelligent, concise answer on the spot, or the ability to deflect it until you can provide an answer. This is a phenomenal skill when dealing with supervisors or when interviewing.

Structured thinking: you'll start writing speeches in a structure (opening, body, conclusion) and have nested structure within that. Before long it will affect your thinking and you'll find yourself telling people exactly what they need to know in a clear, easy to follow manner.

Time saving: due to time limitations of speeches, you'll put emphasis on getting your point across. In addition with practice and removal of crutch words (ah, um, so) and unnecessary pauses, you'll be able to say more in a shorter period of time.

Meeting management: perform certain tasks in a timely manner, ensure things run smoothly and accomplish all tasks/goals expected. This can apply to a formal business meeting or even a "hallway hijacking."

Leadership skills: you learn to take the helm especially when there is no apparent leader and you learn how to steer any situation in the right direction to accomplish a goal.

There are advanced projects that will help you with this specific issue: speaking to management, speaking to inform and technical presentations.

Obviously this will not happen overnight, but I am quite certain that in a good, healthy club you'll notice immediate changes within six months.

Hit the http://toastmasters.org/ [toastmasters.org] website and use the "Find a club" button to locate a club near you. Visit several clubs just to get a feel for the environment and find out which ones are healthy clubs. You might even find one with numerous technical members. If you'd like specific assistance finding a club or want to know more, send me a private message. I'd be glad to help.

Re:retail

[networkBoy]

No one ever claimed that industry acronyms made any sense.
If you hear a finance guy talking about someone's BK, they are talking about a bankruptcy.
-nB