Cross Discipline Communication

In a previous article, I described the challenge of effective and efficient communication in global business environment cross different cultures. A recent conversation about communication with one of my managers prompted me think about the communication barriers between people from different disciplines. During my professional careers, I have personally transitioned from being an engineer to a business manager. Meanwhile, I have also worked with many very talented legal professionals throughout my career but especially during my decade long in managing global business in technology licensing. While communication in corporate world is always challenging, cross discipline communication poses additional challenges.

Engineers, lawyers and business people speak fundamentally different professional languages. As a result, miscommunication or misunderstanding can occur, especially when such a team has to work across the table with external parties. Resulting communication gaps are often heightened during stressful times.

While we have to be careful not over-generalizing which can lead to stereotyping, it is true that different trainings for each discipline indeed make us thinking differently in terms of how we approach issues and problems. 

• Business people tend to focus on bottom lines and often would like to know the conclusions first. They tend to make judgement based on experience and 80/20 rules. The approach is important in a fast moving dynamic business environment but can come across as lack of curiosity or patience to technical people.
• Technical people tend to focus on the logic and process which lead to the conclusions. It is often necessary to go through many details and the complete story to explain the conclusion.
• Legal professionals are trained to think about different scenarios but especially the worst case scenarios. The main business issues in any contracts are typically easy to reach consensus, but many legal clauses in an agreement are there to provide protection for low probability high consequence events. Not everyone have a good grasp of the necessity unless explained in a way people can understand.

In order to work together effectively with people from different disciplines, it is important to learn to understand each other’s perspectives, speak each other’s language, and more importantly to make intentional efforts to overcome the barriers. Here are some recommendations.

First of all, take a moment to think from others perspective. To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world around us. It may make perfect sense to you but would it resonate with your counterpart? What is there for each party and why do they care? Otherwise, a message which might sound very reasonable and persuasive to the you can sound foreign to the other parties. On the other hand, be a good listener if you are on the receiving end, and try to ask for clarification rather than making assumptions.

Secondly, use language and phases people can understand. If necessary, take the time to explain the particular phrases and words in the context of the conversation. Technical worlds are full of jargons and abbreviations that people outside of the fields may have no idea what they mean. For non-lawyers, some of the legal phrases can be intimidating and hard to understand. 

Thirdly, use examples rather than abstract concept. When you sense the challenge in explaining something to the other party, take a step back and try to think of using examples to illustrate the point, rather than try to repeat yourself. Regardless of professions, people relate and digest much better with actual examples than conceptual logics.

Finally, it is about people. The more you get to know people, the better you can connect. Regardless how differently we think or how we prefer to communicate, we are all human. Better communication leads to community, to understanding, to mutual respect and, in the end, better results. The best ideas often emerge from the collision of different insights.

?Related Articles:

How Good are Your Presentation Skills? (9/26/2017)

Efficient vs. Effective Communication in Global Business Environment (11/26/2018)

Commitment and Unbending Principle of Flexibility (11/14/2019)

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