A major source of frustration of many technologists and architects is the tragedy of the victory of style over substance. Many of us fail to get our key messages over to those that matter.
Many of us struggle to articulate our message in way that others understand:
- Our message is too complex
- We provide too much depth and detail
- Our presentation skills are weak
- We don’t connect to the concerns of our audience
- The implications of our points are simplified and trivialised
- We don’t understand the decision making process
- Our audience, understandably, “gives up” before we get to the message
It is clear that we often need to work on our presentation skills. However, I want to make an appeal to our intended audience and those that protect their time.
We have a lot of important and sometimes critical things to say. By not hearing these messages you may be damaging your own organisations and your own careers. For this reason, it is worth hearing us out. It is worth helping us to get to the point. It is worth wading through the detail. It is worth joining the dots from our points to the key issues that you face.
Will we always have a message worth listening to? No! Should you persevere? Yes! Why? The professional mindset is generally apolitical and egoless. It is more interested in doing what is right. The underlying motivation will be sound.
Please make the effort to understand the message from an inarticulate but competent person with the right motivation .
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