The Three Languages of IT In the field of IT we are forced to walk a line between technical problem solvers and customer service representatives.
In doing so IT professionals are forced to speak several languages.
In fact, I'm sure not all of us are even aware that we speak several languages.
Those of us that are aware, don't always speak all of our languages very well.
We can easily speak in acronym riddled techno-babble but we sometimes lack the ability to translate into lay-speak.
Lack of clear understandable communication results in poor customer service.
So, we must find an effective way to communicate with our end users, customers and clients.
We don't want to come across as condescending elitists who spew techy-isms to patronize non-IT personnel but on the flip side we don't want to underestimate our user's computer knowledge which can lead to insult.
So, getting a feel for our "customer's" level of computing savvy is definitely a good idea.
The Obnoxious First Language of IT Our first language is used to communicate and define the heart of what we do and how we do it.
It's the one with all the acronyms.
Standards, protocols and services are what allow us to communicate electronically.
They allow us to provide technological solutions to solve business problems and to improve processes.
They are also the very things that have created our stereotypical "IT guy".
Remember that Saturday Night Live bit with Jennifer Aniston and Jimmy Fallon? "Move!" *(See the link below if you don't remember.
) The Forgotten Second Language of IT Often, we are not aware of what language we use when analyzing a problem, designing a database or writing a script.
Let's say you are troubleshooting a simple network communication issue between an employee's computer and a vendor's network.
The employee is concerned that the installation of their super-smiley depot application has caused the issue.
We rule out their cutesy smiley maker quickly and begin gathering data including IP addresses and tracerts.
Our human IT brains will not process this data we've gathered the way a computer does.
We may not even realize it but many of us will think in terms of, "X system is trying to talk to the Y server and Z router isn't letting it.
" We've humanized the logic behind the issue.
This makes it easier for humans to follow non-human processes and systems.
Let's say we've resolved the issue and the user wants to know what caused it.
We don't need to have that "deer in the headlights" look in our eyes.
We can communicate using the humanized version of our own tech-speak.
This is our second language.
Remember how the client computer "talked" to the server and the router "shut it the hell up"? People appreciate a concise non-technical explanation that they may even find humorous.
They aren't usually impressed when we regurgitate acronyms and tech jargon.
We can forget about our IP addresses and tracerts for now.
The user wants to understand and we are prepared to explain it in simple terms.
"Your handy-dandy-super-nifty email smiley inserter program didn't cause the issue.
The problem is being caused by a vendor's router that isn't letting your computer talk to their server.
I'll call the vendor to see if they're aware of an issue.
" While the user's understanding of a problem and it's solution may not be crucial to business processes it's still good form to give them a quick update and simply answer any questions that they may have.
It promotes a good image of the IT department - brownie points or very little effort.
Our customers, coworkers and clients are always more impressed with good communication and customer service than they are with how quickly we were able to solve an issue or implement a new technology.
The Forbidden Third Language of IT While we manage to humanize our computer's and processes to more easily understand them we in-humanize our people.
IT is not alone here.
Government and corporate culture do a good job of taking away the personal aspect of people.
To the US government you are a social security number.
Similarly employees at large companies are identified by their employee number by the Human Resources department.
In the IT industry someone who is not a member of IT that uses IT supported equipment is a user or an end-user.
I've used these words many times in this writing already.
Our third language makes a "user" as inanimate as a server or a client system.
We need to remember that we're interfacing with people everyday.
A large part of keeping our "users" happy is providing a friendly customer service experience while speaking our second language.
IT support is really a customer service job.
Whether our customers are employees that work for our company or another company we need to consider their frustration.
Let's face it, most of the time people are quiet until they are having an issue with their technology and that's when they call IT huffing and puffing.
We have to remember that the user who is frustrated is a not just a user - they're a person.
* Saturday Night Live: Nick Burns