I once worked with a guy who was brilliant when it came to part numbers, model numbers, and products, but not so much when it came to communication. We were on a job site once when he asked me to hand him the XT-4100. I searched for several minutes before finding out the XT-4100 was the hammer. We wasted precious working time just because I did not speak his jargon. Wouldn’t it have been much more simple to ask for the hammer in the first place? Yes. Often times people of any industry, especially the audio-visual-industry, forget that not everyone is familiar with our industry terms. In fact probably only about 10% of the people you encounter on a daily basis has any idea of what is needed to provide professional production support. It is more important to speak in outcome as opposed to process.

When I go to a fancy restaurant I look at the pretty images in the menu. I pick my choices from seeing the outcomes. I don’t care or need to know what model of stove the chef uses to prepare my meal. I don’t need to know what type of plate will be used or anything in the process, I only need to receive what I asked for. This works the same way in our industry. To confuse and overwhelm your client with useless part numbers and language they do not comprehend is counterproductive. Talk to them in a way that is easy to understand and it will ease some of the stress of planning their event. The client should be talking about the WOW... not the HOW.