in reply to Programming skill #1: Communication

You may be a very technical person. However, the listener may not. Do not describe your problems employing any technical jargon that the listener does not know or understand.
Note that this may involve (gasp!) asking them if they're still following the discussion. Drives me bonkers when I'm talking to someone and they start out making sense, then continue on into Never Never Land of Technical Issues. I don't mind technical issues at all but I don't know everything. Just because I understand object-oriented design doesn't mean I know how a TTP bus works. (No, no relation between the two AFAIK, but this was a recent issue -- the person giving me info was surprised that I knew one but not the other)

And if you're communicating using the written word, double check things before you send it off. Just like Previewing on PM.

  • Comment on Re: Programming skill #1: Communication

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Re^2: Programming skill #1: Communication
by Jenda (Abbot) on May 26, 2005 at 22:40 UTC

    Communication is a two way road, if you are not following, why wait for the other person to ask you if you still do? Tell them! Of course this takes some courage, but to me this sounds better than to have to keep asking. If I don't follow, I ask and I kinda expect the same from the other person. Of course paying attention to the face expression of the other person helps preventing confusion as well ;-)

    Jenda
    XML sucks. Badly. SOAP on the other hand is the most powerfull vacuum pump ever invented.

[reply]
      Assuming, of course, that you can get a word in edgewise. I have no problems admitting that I am not following. But some of the people that I speak to have difficulty stopping themselves from talking. Which is the basis for the note in the first place...
[reply]

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