Many organizations need to have people with very different focuses: the business manager, the creative designer, the technician, the crafts person, the laborer, the clerk, the secretary, the researcher, etc. Each of these roles require different skills, training, language, methodology and mindsets. These differences can often become barriers to effective communication and collaboration.
A common language. Define the important terms you are using. This is important not only for acronyms and subject specific terms, but also for many other common terms that be used different by different groups.
Explain what you mean in different ways. Try using different techniques to convey the same message. Use diagrams, and metaphors, and stories, and point-by-point break downs, and different words and any other method that you can think of. Some groups respond better to one technique over another, and by repeating the concept in different ways there is a greater chance the receivers will recognize what is common to each version, and therefore get the message.
Ask for the receiving party to explain back what they understood of the message. This feedback loop will confirm correct message reception.
Listen attentively and do not hesitate to ask for clarification. Do not concentrate on your response until you fully understand the speakers point.
Do not rush a conversation. Give each speaker a chance to finish. Try to be concise when speaking but take the time to use the right words.
Social Academics: Be specific. Try to avoid ambiguous terms. Break your message down into titled sections; think of a science report format rather then an essay or thesis. Define your goals and methodology. Make specific and clear points. Ask the scientists to make suggestions for methods of achieving your clearly defined goals.
Computer Scientists: Avoid technical terms, unless you are prepared to fully explain them. Understand that engineering elegance may be a foreign concept to some people, and therefore of no obvious value. Give examples of how a technology can be used in human terms. Think in terms of the human and social aspect; how the technology relates to people and their goals. Ask the academics to suggest what the social implications of a technology maybe.
For further discussion please contact Jason Diceman, < jason@bydesign-elab.net >