The 5 B's of Communication for IT Professionals

For nearly 20 years, I've worked with some of the most intelligent IT experts you'll ever meet. The smartest of the smart in start-up companies and global Fortune 500 enterprises. Working with these IT professionals to translate technology into business terms, I've seen some common pitfalls. To help you avoid these traps, follow the '5 B's of Communication.'

1- Before you Begin: Know Your Audience

When communicating any message, put yourself in the shoes of your audience. For example, the level of detail and length of the message will be different for an executive than it is for a technical peer.

If you have a large audience, find out what knowledge is common and create the message for those with the least amount of information on the subject. When applicable, find out what details are of most interest to them and highlight those details using formats they prefer (charts, data, pictures, etc.) You may also want to ask a person not involved with the project/topic to review your message and let you know what is confusing or unclear.

2- Beware of Acronyms

Ah, this is a big one in IT. We have so many acronyms!

While you may know what SDLC stands for, your audience may not. The general rule is to spell out the reference on first usage. Also, it is better to communicate using terms that are familiar to your audience rather than introducing new terms. If new terms are needed, be sure to completely define them.

Ask yourself "if someone joined the company today, would they understand this?"

Good example:

The IT Project Management Organization (PMO) has implemented a Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) toolset to support project managers.

Bad example:

IT has implemented change 0000045 on ticket 088888. The change will help our business customers. Please reference our policy site for more information.

3- Be Concise

If something can be communicated with fewer words, it is usually more effective. Lengthy messages appear complicated and intimidating. If you have a lot of information to include, consider dividing the message and sending it in a series.

Good Example:

To prepare for the upgrade to Office 2016, Information Technology is providing training courses for employees and contractors the week of April 4.

To view classes and sign-up, click here. (link to online registration)

Bad Example:

Several offerings of in-person training classes will be available to you during the week of April 4. These classes will go over what’s new with Office 2016 software to help us get ready for the transition, and we would like to invite you to come. We are no longer going to be using the old operating software so please try to attend. The courses are open to anyone and will be held at the following times...

Think about your ‘elevator pitch.’ If you had three points to make, what would they be? This is a great way to outline the message.

4- Be Clear about Action

What action do you want people to take when they receive this message? Include timelines and specific action steps.

Good example:

To meet our deadlines for security compliance, we need your responses in this survey (link) no later than Friday, July, 11. If you have any questions, please email us at (email here).

Bad example:

Please email us with your answers as soon as you can. There’s a document to fill out. We need this done for security reasons as it's part of our audit this year.

5- Be Careful

Nothing can put a damper on professionalism quite like a spelling or grammatical mistake. In addition, consider the tone of your message and the relationship you have with the person receiving your email.

Good Example:

We are addressing the issue and hope to reach a resolution quickly. Thank you for your patience.

Bad Example:

We are working on the problem and hope to have a revolution quickly. Thank for your patients.