It's the way THEY think that matters

I work with a lot of accomplished, expert, scary-smart people. That’s the joy of the tech industry!

Some of these remarkable people are effective communicators, some less so. In more than a decade of working with these experts, there’s one significant characteristic that’s a litmus test for a technical person’s potential as a communicator.

The brilliant people who are also great communicators understand that they must translate for their audiences. They know that communicating well means making complex concepts accessible, making a message relevant and even fascinating - regardless of their audience’s level of expertise.

The brilliant people who are non-awesome communicators approach the world as if everyone thinks the same way they do and knows the same things they know. I can certainly understand why this happens - they spend a lot of time in internal meetings and industry conversations with peers, debating only with similar minds. However, if you’re one of these people and you think “But that’s just the way my mind works, everyone should have to adjust,” you’re not going to become a great communicator.

You may be shepherding the most profound innovation the world has ever seen, but if you can’t make users, influencers, regulators, and investors understand it, you will not succeed. OR, others will explain it to the world for you and you’ll lose control of your narrative.

Got a complex idea? The prerequisite for success in explaining it is an attitude shift. Embrace one essential truth: It’s your job to suit your message to your audience, not their job to suit their minds to yours.

Every industry has inscrutable complexities (I still don’t really get credit default swaps). Communicating those complexities to audiences of multiple expertise levels is hard. But it’s work that must be done.

I have faith that you can do it. If you’re brilliant enough to come up with something amazing, you’re brilliant enough to explain it. You just need to want to!