Your Mission: Make clients happy by speaking their language
Business English for IT Professionals
July 3, 2025 • 90 Minutes • Level: All
Today: Real workplace communication that works!
"I'm refactoring the database schema to optimize query performance and reduce computational overhead..."
Client thinking: "What? Why? How much will this cost?"
"Your customers will see pages load 3x faster, which typically increases sales by 15%. I'll improve the database to make this happen."
Client thinking: "Great! When can we start?"
Level 1Basic Structure: "Users will see..."
Level 2Add Context: "Users will see pages load faster..."
Level 3Add Specifics: "Users will see pages load in 1 second instead of 3 seconds"
Start: "This will save money"
Build: "This will save money by reducing costs"
Master: "This will save money by reducing server costs by 30%"
Pro tip: Specific numbers = Happy clients!
Remember: These words turn technical work into business wins!
Use this proven structure for EVERY client conversation:
"Users will see/experience/be able to..."
"This will save/make money/reduce risk by..."
"We'll achieve this by..." (keep it simple!)
"You'll see results by..."
Your task: Use the 4-step formula to explain this work to a client
Help:
Practice with your partner! One person explains, one person is the client.
These make clients feel heard and important:
Script 1: "Before we talk about technical details, help me understand what success looks like for your business today."
Script 2: "Let me make sure I understand your business goals so I can give you the best technical advice."
Script 3: "What's the most important business problem we need to solve today?"
Notice: We start with THEIR needs, not our technical work!
Script: "I'm working on [simple description] which will help your customers [specific benefit]."
Script: "Based on similar work we've done, this should take [time]. I'll tell you right away if anything changes."
Script: "I can see why this looks simple from the outside. Let me explain what happens behind the scenes..."
You're planning the next 2-week sprint for an e-commerce website. The client wants to add 5 new features, but you can only do 3 well.
"Before we plan our work, let me understand your business priorities for the next 2 weeks."
"We have more work than we can finish well. Which features are most important for your business goals?"
"Great idea! If we add this, we'd need to remove [other work] or extend the timeline to [new date]. What do you prefer?"
Remember: You're helping them make good business decisions!
"Technical debt is like putting off car maintenance. You can drive for a while, but eventually you need an oil change or the engine breaks down."
"Think of technical debt like a house foundation. You can't see it, but if it's weak, everything built on top becomes unstable."
"Technical debt is like driving on a bumpy road. You can still get where you're going, but it's slow and uncomfortable."
Choose the analogy that feels most natural to YOU!
"Right now, simple changes take [current time]. After we fix technical debt, they'll take [reduced time]. This means we can deliver [specific business benefit] 30% faster."
"Technical debt is slowing us down. We spend [time] fixing bugs instead of building features. Addressing this means more time building things that make you money."
You need 1 week to fix technical debt. The client says "I don't want to spend time on technical debt. I need features."
When Everything Goes Wrong:
"I need to tell you about a serious problem and what we're doing to fix it.
The main server crashed. All user data is safe, but the website will be down for 6 hours.
Use the SpeakUp crisis script to communicate this to your client.
Remember: Honesty builds trust, even in bad situations!
Always explain WHAT IT MEANS FOR BUSINESS!
From all the SpeakUp scripts we practiced, choose 3 you'll use this week:
Think about your actual work. When will you use these scripts?
Every conversation should make them feel:
More CONFIDENT, not more confused!
You already have the technical expertise.
Now you have the communication tools too!
Ready to make clients happy!
Practice your chosen scripts this week.
See you next class with success stories!