Vocabulary Matters
Why is it important to be assertive on terminologies
Hey, fellow Leader 🚀,
I am Artur, and welcome to my weekly newsletter. I am focusing on topics like Project Management, Innovation, Leadership, and a bit of Entrepreneurship. I am always open to suggestions for new topics. Feel free to reach out to me and share my newsletter if it helps you in any way.
In the IT industry, it’s very easy to find people who work in the field and openly admit they don’t understand anything about IT. This is what I call the “Vanity of Ignorance”. As if it’s cool, or even a point of pride, to say in a room full of experts that you don’t understand even a fraction of what they're saying.
This is a common symptom in a field that is highly technical but requires strong people skills to understand a given problem and design a good solution. However, it is the responsibility of experts to adjust their communication to the audience, provided there is some effort on the other side to understand.
In light of communication I wrote an article in an uncommon topic, which can be found at the link below.
Why Technicalities Matter?
Rarely are we in a situation where one size fits all. Sometimes, a trade-off must happen to understand which solution is best suited to a given problem. If someone asks for an interface for a service and receives an API endpoint instead of a UI, it is clear that communication was lost somewhere in the flow. However, for very complex and difficult challenges, the success or failure of a solution is in the technicalities. IT alone cannot choose the best solution. It needs feedback to understand what is truly needed. In the “trade-off” game, what would be acceptable and what would not, and here, the technicalities and the little minutiae are the kings and queens of the whole picture.
Using good vocabulary instead of oversimplified expressions is a clear and factual way to resolve an issue or propose solutions. If the other person is having challenges understanding, it is because someone is clearly in the wrong role on that project. I understand how challenging it can be, but that’s why I make the investment and do the research into topics that I know little about. If I am leading a project that relies heavily on physical network components, not only do I realize that my professional life is not taking the path I would like, but I need to make the investment to understand what the hell a “Network topology” is.
It Shows Intelligence and Know-How
As I've said before, there's a special level of frustration when an expert gets on a call with someone who shows a limited grasp of the subject. This is especially true when you're addressing issues on a project or in a production environment. Time is limited, and so is patience.
Having a strong vocabulary is a sign of intelligence. When a non-technical person can speak to experts with some degree of technicality, it conveys an image of know-how. Most importantly, it shows respect. This can be particularly challenging for professionals working in international contexts, especially when English is their second or third language. The beauty of this, besides a well-drafted network diagram, is that with little effort and focus to improve the vocabulary used on a specific topic, it contributes immensely to the perception of someone’s intelligence and the grasp of the problem. The fun part is that there aren’t many people doing the effort, so a small nudge is enough to be ahead of the pack.
Reduces Misunderstandings
Oversimplified terms are, by their very nature, vague and open to interpretation, even if the context changes only slightly. That's why technicality is so important.
Imagine reading an SLA that simply states, "the platform is slow, therefore penalties". What constitutes a platform being slow? On which metrics and thresholds do we consider a platform to be slow? This shows why we need to be very specific in our terminology and understand the full impact of what is being discussed.
Today, with AI, we can ask all the dumbest questions and get smart answers. No egos are destroyed or made victims for simply asking questions.
That’s it. If you find this post useful, please share it with your friends or colleagues who might be interested in this topic. If you would like to see a different angle, suggest it in the comments or send me a message.
Cheers,
Artur