How to communicate as a Software Developer

CThe other day I was talking to a colleague, a non-developer, and he asked me about the work I was doing. I started to blabber as the passionate techie nerd that I am, with things like JavaScript, app performance, server-side rendering, database connections and the list goes on and on. Her face was one of astonishment. He was like. What did you say? I lost him. I totally forgot that he was a non-developer. I forgot that he did not know how to code. This is one of the various situations this has happened to me. However, over the years, I have learned to communicate my ideas to someone who is a software developer and a non-developer.

Here are some tips I can share through my journey as a software developer and experience that can help developers communicate with people who are not in the field but need to understand about your daily activities in your organization. This could be, but not limited to, from people in the marketing to the sales departments.

The tips I am going to share today, are derived from two ideas that I firmly believe in: “empathy” and “practicality”. So, let’s get started.

Think about things relevant to the person you are talking to

Here is where empathy comes to play. For instance, if you are talking to a colleague from the marketing department, don’t focus on talking about frameworks, programming languages, best practices or anything directly related to code. Don’t start blabbing on how awesome the framework you are using is and how the code is running faster. Leave that to the conversations with your fellow developers.

When communicating with people from other departments, such as the marketing department, think about what is relevant to them and their interests. Think, what does he/she need to know about the application in order to do her job (this case, promote it, among other things)? So, instead of talking about tech stuff, I would say: “The application allows users to create an account, view their purchase history and keep track of current orders”.

That is, I would talk only about the features. By doing this, I am setting up the colleague for success in promoting the product. Because as we know, we can develop the best software in the world, but if no one knows about it and how it works, our product is not going to impact the lives of users. Which leads me to my second tip.

Focus on what your application can do for them 

We are all human, we have things do and commitments to fulfill. Time is precious. So, when communicating with clients, focus on what the application can do for them.   Thus, focus on the practical aspects of your application. For example, can the app reduce the cost of a certain business process? Can the application facilitate the life of the customers of the business? If it can, how does it do it (remember, don’t go into technical stuff)? Also, can the application increase business revenue?  These are the things you should focus on communicating with a client.

When keeping this in mind, you will have a more efficient and productive conversation. Where both parts are happy and projects run smoothly.

In summary, when communicating with people who are not software developers, focus on communication with empathy and practicality. Think, what aspects of the application are relevant to the person I am talking to? What can the application do for them? Do this, and I am sure you will succeed in communicating with others in your career.

Credits: Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels, original article from my blog YadielCabrera.com