As techies, it goes without saying that we love technology: the theory, the detail, the practice.
Explaining the ins and outs of how something works to a room full of techies is fun, we’re in our element. But what about when we’re presenting to the sales team? HR? Senior leaders? Before we dive into the detailed explanation packed with obscure jargon and industry in-jokes, let’s read the room.
People won’t always care about the things we care about. We’re excited about the tech, but not everyone is. When we need to get a point across, we put ourselves in our audience’s shoes. We invest time in understanding who they are and what gets them excited. They can’t be expected to cross the chasm to meet us in our domain and terminology. We have to meet them where they are.
If we understand that, then we can explain concepts, delays, success and failure in terms that mean something to them. In ways that are relevant to their role and responsibilities. Obviously, we don’t want to treat people like they’re stupid. They don’t get software engineering in the same way you don’t have a clue about financial regulation. It’s about bridging the gap.
We need to think in terms of outcomes and impact. What outcomes are your audience looking for? What motivates them? What’s the impact of those outcomes (in their language)? Telling someone they will have “a world class data science platform that enables data scientists to…” sounds great. But what does that mean to the director of sales? The COO? The CFO?
How will it boost sales? Reduce costs? Improve profit margins? Improve customer loyalty? Reduce risk of regulatory penalties? By what degree? And what are the risks?
A tough gig? For sure. But not if you take the time to learn what matters to them. A good rule of thumb is to gear your explanations towards the person in the room who understands (and cares) the least.