How to talk about technology

Communication World, April, 1995 by Mark Frey

Currently our society faces a gap that is rapidly becoming a chasm between those who understand technology and those who do not.

If a bridge is to be built between the information "haves and have nots," it must be built by those already in the know. Unfortunately, the skills needed to inform others about technology are altogether different from the skills needed to acquire that wealth of wisdom in the first place. All too often those of us who are techno-literate forget that explaining how to reconfigure an autoexec.bat file is not like giving someone directions to the post office. Talking about technology becomes even more of a problem when we try to make a technical presentation before a group. Delivering a good presentation is extremely difficult under the best of circumstances; when your subject matter is technical, it becomes even more of a challenge.

Speaking versus writing about technology

Written communication is less likely to be misunderstood than verbal communication because you have a chance to preview the material. You have time to read what you wrote before anyone else reads it. You can "switch hats" and experience your own message the way a reader would. If something does not make sense, you can rewrite it. The reader, too, is able to take in the material at his or her own pace. The reader can skim ahead, go back, and control the communication process. This is not to say that most technical writing is effective. The reality is that most technical writing is written by the technically literate for the technically literate - who usually do not read the manuals anyway. When was the last time you read a straightforward technical manual for a high-tech product?

Verbal communication is much more of a "shooting from the hip" medium compared with written communication. It is for this very reason that training in presentation techniques is critical. You can never really "take back" what you have said. You may apologize, cover-up, obfuscate and deny each time you place your foot where your fork should be; but you can never reverse the clock. Oral communication demands that you get it right the first time because if you don't, you may never have a second chance.

Put yourself in your listeners' place before you open your mouth. Practice "listening" to your audience's nonverbal signals while you speak. Take the time to "measure" who they are, where they came from, and why they are listening to you.

Change the way you think about communication itself

The structure of language itself is part of the problem. We cannot help but describe communication by using such words as "send," "transmit" and "exchange." It seems obvious that communication does not involve any real physical exchange and yet we always seem to speak about it as if it did. Messages are not "things" that can be exchanged like coins. One of the ways communication breaks down between the technical "haves and have nots" is directly a result of this misconception about communication. In this mutual frustration festival, the technically adept believe their audience is not able to "get" the message. The technically adept keep repeating themselves and conclude that their audience is stupid. Meanwhile, the non-technical audience becomes increasingly convinced that the technical aristocrats are speaking a language that they will keep among themselves forever. It is thanks to this frustration that words like "techno-weenie" have found a place in our vocabularies.

The job of the speaker is not to force the message through; the job of the speaker is to allow the listener to create his or her own "impression" of the message. The audience will never receive your exact idea in its entirety; rather the audience selects what they will perceive from what you say in accordance with their own perceptual screens and biases. As Walter Lippmann said: "For the most part we do not see first and then define; we define first and then we see."

You will take a big step toward improving your effectiveness at explaining technical ideas by realizing that your job is not to "transfer" meaning. Your real goal should be to provide the type of environment in which your audience can create accurate impressions of your words. Start thinking of yourself as a "facilitator" of understanding rather than as a sender of messages.

Organize your information

Besides paying more attention to your listeners and gaining a better understanding of how communication works, the next way you can help talk about technology is to improve the way you organize your presentation of information. As you communicate to an audience, you are to them just a part of what philosopher William James called "that big, blooming, buzzing, confusion" that makes up the world.

How you organize your technical presentation can help overcome that confusion. There are a variety of ways this can be done:

A. Historical - It is often appropriate to describe a subject in terms of its history. For example, if you were making a presentation about cellular phones, you could start by explaining how phones have evolved over time. This provides your listeners with a stronger frame of reference.