Communication in IT
Why communication?
The longer I work in IT, the more I appreciate the importance of good communication. Unfortunately, it often lacks, and as a result, I see situations like these daily:
- A great UX project goes to waste because it was presented without considering the business context.
- An improvement idea suggested by a programmer doesn’t get implemented because the users lack information about its benefits.
- A meeting ends without concrete decisions and next steps because the person who organized it didn’t manage participants’ expectations and feedback.
- An important risk raised by architects is downplayed because they explain it in a highly technical and incomprehensible way to the audience.
- A Product Manager struggles to convince stakeholders of a bold product vision because she doesn’t take their needs and concerns into account.
The product team meets repeatedly to discuss the same issue, but team members can’t agree and feel like “everyone is speaking a different language.”
I see that many people recognize these problems but don’t know what to do about them or don’t believe that improvement is possible. I want to change that. I know there are effective ways for anyone who wants to communicate better, easier, and more freely.
In my work, I utilize not only my experience in the IT world but also knowledge and skills from my psychological studies, a year at the School of Training and Psychological Workshop INTRA, the Academy of Transactional Analysis, and intensive courses in NVC (Nonviolent Communication) and mediation.
How can I help you?
What you can expect?
Authenticity
I share how to communicate better without using artificial phrases or magic formulas. I focus on natural language, agreement, and contact.
Your situations
You can learn the most by working on your own examples. That's why we use your situations instead of role-playing artificial scenes.
Experiments
Similar to product management, in communication training, I use hypotheses and experiments. As a result, after each session, you'll have a few small changes to test in practice.
1:1 Sessions
1:1 sessions may cover:
- Improvement of specific communication skills, e.g., active listening.
- A goal to achieve, e.g., preparing for an important presentation.
- Another topic you bring, e.g., a challenging work relationship with another person.
- A UX researcher conducting user interviews wants to communicate with users in a way that reaches their emotions, motivations, and needs.
- A Product Manager wants to effectively communicate a new product vision and strategy to the management.
- A programmer working on a highly technical project wants to convey key project information to business people better and manage their requirements.
- The technical leader of a small development team wants to provide feedback more effectively.
- A UX designer wants to reduce stress and increase self-confidence when presenting and discussing projects.
During 1:1 sessions, we typically break down the communication situation into its components, analyze them, identify areas for improvement, and practice.
Team sessions
During team sessions, we work on the topics or goals that matter to you. These can include intra-team topics and external communication, such as with other teams, departments, stakeholders, users, or customers.
For more complex situations, team sessions may be preceded by 1:1 conversations with team members.
Sample topics:
- A DevOps team handling tasks for all teams wants to understand their needs better and improve communication.
- A product team wants to establish rules for asynchronous communication.
- UX designers want to enhance collaboration and communication with developers.
- A product team wants to provide better project feedback and work together on solutions.
During team sessions, my goal is to achieve results and equip team members with the knowledge and skills to handle similar situations.
Mediation
Mediation involves voluntary meetings between people in conflict or with differing points of view who are open to seeking an agreement. As a mediator, I assist in this process through:
- Pre-mediation: Individual meetings with each party involved to clarify the source of misunderstandings and the parties’ needs.
- Mediation sessions: Joint meetings with the conflicting parties, focusing on communication and mutual understanding.
- Support in finding a solution that satisfies both parties while being specific and implementable.
In the context of IT, mediation topics typically involve:
- Misunderstandings among team members.
- Misunderstandings between an internal team member and someone external, such as from another department or team.
- Conflict between a team leader and a team member.
- Misunderstandings with subcontractors or clients.
