Communication Improbable?by John Stevenson@jr0cket

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5 Day Workshopon communication

20 minute talk

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Communication has many formsPeople respond to forms of communications differently

If we are not communicating…

...just vibrating air between us

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A picture paints a thousand words…

- Use visuals as part of you message

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Touch, taste and smell can evoke very powerful communication

- In-person events add to the feeling of connection

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So it should be really easy to communicate with your community,

right?

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Communication is ImprobableOur brains filter out millions of pieces of data...

Filter… Filter… Filter...

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Thinking Fast and Slow

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System 1- fast, instinctive and emotional

System 2- slower, more deliberative, and more logical

wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow

Confirmation Bias“Our App is so easy to use”

“We have all the features you need”

“Everyone wants to use our platform / API / tools”

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180+ Cognitive Biases

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We are all opinionated people

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Avoid living inyour own

bubble

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Can we communicateAnd can we convey our real meaning...

The more you do…

… the more confusing the message can become

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Write Clear Content

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Why Attend my event?

If we run an event, do people know why they should attend?

- When is it- Where is it- What benefit will I get

Visualise Your Message

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Organising your info

Make Discovery Easy

Consider the naming of things

Communication TechniquesBeing effective

Listening Effectively

Thinking about what you are going to say next is not listening

Thing about what someone is actually saying, rather than what you think (wish) they were saying

Patient people are much more effective at communicating

Listening shows respect & builds trust

Meditation & Mindfulness practice helps you into a listening mode

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Why are we doing this?

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Challenge your assumptions

Should we do this now?

@jr0cketLast responsible moment

Evaluate many aspects of your thinking

Six Thinking Hats - Edward De Bono

Everyone thinks with the same hat at the same time

Effective way to make decisions & have valuable meetings

Don’t you not want to leave this talk right now,

or not ?

Clarity of communication

Kittens are going hungry whilst you try and figure this out

“I can’t get no…

satisfaction”

Clarity of communication

Modern culture and language is often the most guilty...

“Difficult People” - Agree, Empathise, Inquire

Find something to agree with - reduces confrontation levels - “You’re right, this is a tough situation”

Empathise with the person - give them a sense of acknowledgement - I can see this makes you angry”

Inquire, get further information about the situation - start collaborating on a resolution to the problem

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Learning from CommunicationCome and join me on stage to win a prize

Retrospectives & Off-sites

Work on how you communicate

...challenge your own assumptions

...test /validate your understanding

Evaluating & Testing FeedbackQualitative versus Quantitative

Evaluate your feedback

Validate survey results by talking to people

Data is not information until it’s been tested (many times)

Qualitative versus Quantitative

Validate survey results by talking to people

Test your assumptions

New people to your community can quickly show you

- processes that are broken

- missing information- things are are ambiguous

Keep it real...

It’s not all about T-Shirts

Developers love the new shiny…

… but it actually has to work and be a good experience

Backlash takes more effort to overcome!

If you have to force people to use your tech…

… there is something very wrong

5 volunteers on stage please...Come and join me on stage to win a prize

I went to John’s talk and all I got was a silly selfie!

Deliver what you promise…

… or deliver even greater

What communications is not!

Communication is not...

...the tools you use

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In Summary...

Trust.Underpinning Communication

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Communication is the most important part of

developer relations

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Effective communication is bringing others on a journey your mind has

already taken@jr0cket

If we are not communicating…

...just vibrating air between us

@jr0cket

Thank you@jr0cket

“The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of

Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases.

For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question: 'How can we eat?' the second by the question

'Why do we eat?' and the third by the question:

'Where shall we have lunch?”