Stereotypes, Part 2 of 3

Finally, there is the last stereotype (heck, I'm sure there's more - these are just the ones I had) of the smart, good-looking, well-dressed IT man/woman with rectangular glasses, good temperment, and well-developed social skills. Any one of these may or may not be true about an IT person, but this particular person who is portrayed so often on TV (especially in commercials) is rare.

Usually, in shows like Laws & Order SVU (that guy who looks like BD Wong whose name I haven't learned yet), these techie people know all, and can give you any answer you need about anything quickly and fluently. If not an immediate answer, they will pull up a computer program that has exactly the information needed exactly when needed - with a really neat user interface. This, friends, is TV at its finest.

My experience tells me that most IT concepts and project updates, when they need to be communicated, involve much more than a few pointed or witty sentences. Usually, it means some back-and-forth, some re-explanations, some errors, and occasionally some drawings on a whiteboard. Even for a software developer who communicates fluently, if you are managing multiple projects and must answer questions on the spot about details on one particular project, there will be some stammering and follow-up questions before the information is communicated.

I have also seen (and felt) the need for IT people and software developers to emulate this stereotype. They (and I have, but am trying not to) feel pressure to provide short, concise answers to managers and stake-holders in "TV style". But life and communication don't work that way. Communication is an art, not a hard science (haha - which is maybe why some programmers struggle with it). What makes it worse are those in management who expect the short, concise, exacting answer - this makes communication of information harder. I've seen developers leave out information because it didn't fit into the nice, concise answer management expects. This is also due in part to management's probably not wanting to hear added information. Truthfully, some non-technical IT managers only want to hear "yes, everything is good." Even if you mention issues with projects, the conversation is sometimes steered until you finally have to say "yes, everything is good" and smile.

But I digress. My point is, snappy witty IT guy with all the right answers immediately does not exist. Situations are usually more complicated than can be described with a few short sentences. If as a developer, you are familiar with this, or feel this pressure - relax. Simply focus on what information is important, then communicate that in a way the other person can understand. Eventually you'll get good at it, and be closer than ever to communicating as clearly and consicely as those people on TV whose lines are scripted and practiced.