Do you know this? Are you having problems with your laptop, would you like a new feature on your website or a bug fixed, but you are only making slow progress when talking to the IT employee or programmer? You are not alone with this communication problem. In this article, we will show you the right strategy for successfully mastering communication with IT.
The difference in knowledge
Both you and your counterpart have very specialized knowledge. Things that you take for granted are foreign territory for the "techie" - and vice versa. The IT employee may know how to control a computer via the terminal, but may have no idea about marketing, which in turn is easy for you. The consequences are possible misunderstandings and incomplete follow-up todos, which make the work of both sides more inefficient.
Be precise
One of the most important points in the communication strategy with the IT service is to be as precise as possible. This is because the difference in knowledge between you and the IT employee will most likely result in them using the same software in completely different ways. There is a consensus among software developers that it doesn't matter what the customer should do with the software. They do what they want with it anyway.
It is therefore necessary that you describe your problem as meticulously as possible. Don't just say "The registration form is broken". Describe exactly what went wrong. Did the page not load at all or were there problems sending it? Have you already filled in the field for the e-mail address? Which pages were you on before? All these things can help the IT employee to understand the actual problem and solve it successfully. This also reduces the follow-up questions that arise and can therefore save a lot of time for both you and the techie.
Provide information about your motivations
If you describe your goals and background in more detail in the communication, the IT department can put themselves in your shoes and better understand your point of view. In the case of a broken registration form, this is not necessary. However, if your company needs a new feature, for example, or would like things to be designed differently, it is worth communicating your reasons. On the one hand, IT staff will be more motivated to implement the requirements if they know why. On the other hand, they probably have alternative and faster solutions that meet your requirements just as well but take less time. There are many ways to reach your goal, but some of them may only be known to the techie.
The language barrier
Many technical terms are used in computer technology to make communication more efficient. However, this often turns out to be a communication problem when talking to a non-specialist. This is because the IT expert suddenly finds it difficult to explain supposedly simple concepts.
Don't stop asking questions
Don't be put off if the person you are talking to uses words such as "client side", "deployment" or "caching" as a matter of course. Ask - even if it's in every sentence. How would you know these terms? It is the IT employee's job to communicate these things to you in a way that you can understand. Furthermore, it is only possible to recognize the core of a problem if you understand the processes behind it. And finally, both sides have the same goal, which is why even the techie realizes that asking comprehension questions immediately saves questions later on. Incidentally, we have also created a collection of technical terms with understandable explanations if you would like to learn more about the technical terms.
Prejudices
Another communication problem arises from prejudices, which rarely exist without reason. The problem, however, is that these are often self-fulfilling prophecies. If you expect the worst from a conversation, it is difficult to be convinced otherwise. Worse still, your own negative attitude can unconsciously steer the conversation in the wrong direction. This also applies to target groups outside of IT. Programmers are nerds, non-IT people are noobs. Or are they?
Be constructive
For programmers, coding is a passion and a kind of art, which is why they often take criticism of their work personally. They also know the common prejudices and therefore sometimes feel misunderstood. This is not your fault, but you can prevent it from getting that far in the first place.
If you find an error ("bug"), you will naturally wonder at first how it made it into the software in the first place. Surely this has to be tested? The fact is, however, that all software has bugs, even that of the software giants. For example, many important locations were missing from Apple Maps in 2012. There was no Statue of Liberty, buildings were shown on the wrong side of the street and there was no location data for Japan at all. If you put this in the context of the size of the company, the bug you found is probably quite small.
The right strategy is therefore to show the IT expert that the bug you found does not make you doubt their competence. Also, express your knowledge that no software is perfect and that development is an ongoing process with no real end.
Conclusion
Communication is never easy, especially with IT staff whose area of expertise is very different from yours. Nevertheless, you can communicate better and even master communication. You can bridge the knowledge gap between you and the IT employee by using precise wording. Also, don't stop asking questions if you don't understand something - even the third time. And last but not least: don't let yourself be led by prejudices and remain constructive.
