Tech Tact

Explanation without Taxation

2008-04-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

The word "audit" makes people uncomfortable. Especially around tax season.

"We would like to perform an audit of your technical infrastructure."

becomes...

"We would like to meet and learn more about the technical infrastructure."

Tactful Pa$$wordz

2008-02-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

Passwords sometimes tip off how people feel about a project. Upbeat sounding passwords cheer people up. Also, give folks a break by avoiding confusing characters. For example, avoid ones and zeros because they're easy to confuse with lowercase "L" and the letter "O."

the password: "GloomDo0m1"

becomes...

the password "!Bright22!"

Good evening, what makes you nauseous?

2008-01-16T20:28:00.002-08:00

Just as waiters avoid asking customers what foods they find unappetizing, there's good reason not ask clients or stakeholders what technologies they think are objectionable.

"Are there technologies you object to using?"

becomes...

"What technologies are you particularly comfortable with?"

Jekyll and Decide

2008-01-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

Ambiguous decisions can make projects come to a screeching halt. Recasting decisions as approvals is a helpful alternative.

For example,

"We submitted a proposal last week and we're waiting for you to decide what to do."

becomes...

"We're ready to move ahead as soon as we receive an approval on the proposal submitted last week."

As Iron to Adamant

2007-12-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

Create a less hard-nosed tone by avoiding inflexible and rigid words like "adamant."

For example,

"The client is adamant about sticking with the existing content management system."

becomes...

"The client is very comfortable with the existing content management system."

Wear and Care

2007-11-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

Avoiding the word "care" can help head off trouble at the pass.

For example,

"If we don’t care about cross platform support then there are several solutions we could deploy."

becomes...

"If cross platform support is a low priority then another solution can be deployed instead."

From Head to Know

2007-11-04T12:57:00.000-08:00

Avoiding "as you know..." may help create a positive tone, particularly if readers don't know, or don't agree with what's being communicated.

For example,

"As you know, MeetingExpress is the only true cross platform solution."

becomes...

"MeetingExpress is the only solution we evaluated that works on Mac and Windows."

Exageratation Inclination

2007-11-04T12:55:00.001-08:00

Removing superlatives can make technical communications more authoritative.

For example,

"The Sonic25 platform blows away the competition and is immensely better than anything else available."

becomes...

"In our tests, the Sonic25 platform scored higher than competing technologies."

Aware's a Bear

2007-11-04T12:44:00.001-08:00

Avoiding "aware" and "awareness" can make readers feel more comfortable.

For example,

"I’m very aware how important this is."

becomes...

"This is a very high priority. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't think you're aware how important this project is. "

becomes...

"In my opinion, this project needs to be made a high priority."

Separation of Church and Debate

2007-10-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

Removing religious references may make readers and listeners more comfortable.

For example,

"I am platform agnostic."

becomes...

"I am platform neutral."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't want to get into a religious argument about which CMS to invest in."

becomes...

"I am comfortable evaluating content management systems based on price and performance."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"I believe the highest quality is necessary to make video conferencing work for people."

becomes...

"In my opinion, high quality video is required to make video conferencing work."

Survey says...

2007-10-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Requesting feedback may help create a more modest tone and offset the negative effect of pronouns.

For example,

"I would like to remove the rich media from the home page so it loads faster."

becomes...

"I would like to remove the rich media from the homepage so it loads faster. What do you think?"

A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.S.

2007-10-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

Explaining acronyms at least once may make readers feel more comfortable.

For example,

"You should use REST instead of SOAP..."

becomes...

"In our experience, Representational State Transfer (REST) is more efficient than Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)..."

Yes is More

2007-10-27T12:58:00.001-07:00

"Yes" can show a willingness to collaborate without sacrificing resolve.

For example,

"No I cant put that 20MB flash file on the home page."

becomes...

"Yes, the large flash file can go on the home page, provided the team is comfortable with the very significant performance tradeoff."

"No we can't convert a complicated Flash application to AJAX on this schedule."

becomes...

"Yes the application can be converted to AJAX on this schedule, provided the team is comfortable eliminating certain features and browser support."

Quid Quo Pronoun

2007-10-27T12:57:00.002-07:00

Eliminating personal pronouns like "I," "you," "he/she" and "we" may lighten the tone. This is particularly true when there is no request for feedback.

For example,

"we are recommending that you move off of the Sonic25 platform..."

becomes...

"moving off the Sonic25 platform is recommended..."

----------------------------------------------

"I examined your infrastructure..."

becomes...

"After a review of the infrastructure..."

----------------------------------------------

"You should add more servers for peak loads..."

becomes...

"In our experience, adding additional servers will minimize the effects of peak loads..."

The Difference is Opinion

2007-10-27T12:57:00.001-07:00

"In my opinion..." is a great way to soften the tone of technical communication.

For example,

"Adding another programmer to the job is pointless..."

becomes...

"In my opinion, adding another programmer to the job is not a good allocation of resources."

Discuss, No Further

2007-10-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

Written correspondence (especially email) is sometimes a poor substitute for in-person discussions; "discuss further" is an artful phrase only if prior discussion has actually occurred.

"I am allocating a member of your team to another project, please let me know if you would like to discuss further."

becomes...

"I have an allocation idea and would look forward to scheduling a convenient time to discuss over the phone or in person."