Effective communication is essential to leadership. Engineering leaders must act as a communication bridge between the tech team and others in the organization. Following are some tips for you to communicate effectively with non-tech colleagues.

• Active listening - Understanding the perspective of all stakeholders on their demands, concerns, and feedback.
• Empathize - Show genuine interest in their perspective. Acknowledge their role and contribution to the organisation.
• Subtract tech jargon - Tech jargon is the easiest way to alienate non-tech individuals. Use simple language and analogies to explain technical concepts.
• Be patient - Give them time to understand and respond to the technical information.
• Align on outcomes - Align your communication with business outcomes by focusing on how engineering projects drive these outcomes. Familiarise with business metrics and use them as anchor points in all communication.
• Frequent updates - There’s no such thing as over-communication. Send periodic updates to your non-tech stakeholders.
• Build a relationship - Building a relationship will ensure smoother execution of projects and will enrich you with diverse perspectives