How To Talk To Programmers
![How To Talk To Programmers](https://d19d9m2dcgrxq7.cloudfront.net/how-to-talk-to-programmers-sm.jpg)
How To Talk To Programmers
If you’re looking to create new content for your website or for an app then chances are you’re going to need programmers to help you with the process. You need them to help you create high-quality content that’s going to look great and function even better for your visitors. But talking with a programmer about just what you need isn’t always easy. After all, they speak more of the technical aspects while you may have a more basic understanding of those areas. So, what do you do?
Know What You Want
The first thing you need is to know exactly what it is that you want. What do you want your app or website to do? What kind of end result are you looking for? By being able to explain this you’ll be able to get a little bit closer to having your programmers understand what you’re looking for and what they need to do in order to achieve the end result that you want. But you want to have as clear of a description as possible for what the result is going to look like.
The more details you have and the better you can describe things the better it’s going to be for your programmer. They’ll be able to take a look at what you’ve decided you want whether it’s notes, an outline, or something else, and start figuring out just how to get from where you are right now to where you want to be when they’re done. And this doesn’t require you to be able to speak any kind of coding language with them. You can just speak the language you understand about your business.
Keep it Simple
If you don’t know coding languages then you want to keep your overall discussion very simple. Get the information that you need and give them the information that they need but don’t ask a lot of detail questions that you don’t understand the answers to. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask any questions and if you need to know any of the information make sure that you get them to explain it to you in as much detail as you need, but if you don’t need to know then don’t ask and most definitely don’t pretend to understand things you don’t.
When you try to act like you know what your programmers are talking about and they can tell that you don’t it definitely doesn’t bode well for your business or your relationship. Rather, it makes them view you in an entirely different, and likely poor, fashion. So, be upfront about what you know and what you don’t know so you don’t make yourself look foolish trying to impress someone who definitely can tell that you don’t know what you’re talking about. Being honest is going to make you look a whole lot better in the long run.
Learn What You Need to Know
You may need to look into some classes to learn more about programming. This isn’t so you can do the job yourself. Keep in mind that the programmers you hire have likely been doing this for a long time and they have a lot of experience and potentially certifications and training. If you decide to attend a class or to get a little bit of assistance in learning about programming that’s definitely not going to be the same thing as what they have learned throughout their extensive experience. Pretending that it is or that you know as much or more than them is only going to cause you problems in the long run.
Even still, learning what you can to make sure you have a general understanding of programming is a good idea. This will help you to actually understand some of the more basic elements that your programmers are talking about and how to express yourself in a way that is easier to understand. But it’s only going to be a preliminary understanding and it’s definitely not something that you want to push as making you ‘smarter.’
Build Up Your Relationship
When you’re just getting started with a programmer on your team you want to start by building up your relationship. This is going to help you communicate better and it’s going to make each of you more comfortable expressing yourself and your needs. But keep in mind that there’s such a thing as too much of a relationship if you’re not able and willing to tell your new programmer when something is wrong or they didn’t do something the way that you wanted them to. After all, friends within your company are known for doing that kind of thing, right?
Creating a relationship that lets you and your programmers feel comfortable and confident talking to each other and being open about what can and can’t be done is going to make a huge difference for your business. Just make sure that you let your programmers know that you are still the boss and not just their friend who is going to let them do whatever they want. You need to be a boss first and a friend after the fact. And that can be done more easily if you are trusting them to do some work for your business that is outside of your scope of understanding.
Communicating Effectively
Overall, there are many steps involved in making sure that you communicate well with programmers. If you’re looking for even more advice, however, take a look at this article, which details some of the things you may want to know about so you can address them immediately with your programmer as well. After all, you want to make sure that they are building your website or app to your specifications. And you definitely want to make sure they understand what those specifications actually are. From there, you can work together to create something that really will change your business and get even more people visiting your website or downloading your app.
Tell us about your project and we’ll connect you with top tech talent around the world, or near you!