Words Matter: 10 Tips for Smoother Communication in Tech (Part II)
Welcome to this second part, with 5 more battle-tested tips (see Part 1 here). If these tips align with your own mindset, come and join the team at Yousign.
6. Question the system, not the people
When someone screws up, ask yourself what circumstances led them there. Maybe they’re not guilty but their environment is. A developer isn’t following best practices? Maybe we’re bad at communicating them. A PM is too pushy with their requests? Maybe they’re under negative pressure from a top prospect. A systemic perspective will foster empathy and fix processes rather than blame people.
7. Honour your readers
We get bombarded with messages everyday. So, be aware and mindful of your readers’ time. Use sharp, clear sentences. Remove parasite words. Structure thoughts with bullet points. Proof-read yourself before hitting send. Is your message self-explanatory? Are you using emphasis such as “?” and “!” wisely? Is your wording consistent? If writing for leadership, use TL;DRs and pyramidal communication. Your readers will thank you and give more credit to your communications.
8. Boil it down to first principles
I tinker with the idea that disagreement cannot exist when building a product. Debates arise between Dev x Dev, PM x EM, Front x Back, EM x EM on delivery or architectural approaches. These debates can often be defused with first principles thinking. Are we prioritising experimentation over stability? Time-to-market over cost savings? We’re all rational agents. Given a set of objectives and constraints, we should reach the same conclusions.
This does not mean everyone will be happy with the conclusion. But they’ll agree that it’s the best course for the company right now. Are some folks chronically contrarian? That might reveal a misfit with the company culture — time to have deeper conversations then.
9. Don’t send it under the heat
Emotions make for terrible advisors. Cool down before replying to messages that make you angry, afraid or sad. Using scheduled or draft messages on Slack helps a lot. For example when I draft stuff in the evening, I consistently change them the morning after. The night helps softening the tone before sending. Then sometimes I screw up and react immediately. Some colleagues have been very patient with me on this — and I’m thankful.
10. Go live when it goes wild
When things get too heated, just pick up the phone. Don’t use async communication for complex and difficult issues. My personal red flag is when I become too bullish in my messages. I make bold statements and try to sugarcoat them with emojis. So lame. In these cases, nothing beats a good old live conversation.
Closing thoughts: be empathetic, stay authentic
At the end of the day, we’re all trying to have a good time working together. So let’s put ourselves in others’ shoes and be nice humans. Let’s not take things personally when someone screws up their communication.
This doesn’t mean confrontation cannot exist. Some of the greatest products emerge after hard frictions between brains. Just remember: stick to confrontation, avoid conflict. Because confrontations involve ideas while conflicts involve people. To remain in confrontation, it helps to polish your communication with these tips.
Finally, know when to transgress these tips for the better. Authenticity wins in the long run. If this aligns with your mindset, come and join the team at Yousign.
