--publishing another old draft. times when instant messaging was new!--
Very often you have issues and often you have to seek help from a colleague or an expert in that field.
Quite a fraction of this (typically) "seeking help" thing happens in a rather informal way. Apart from the coffee tables and over the desk medium this includes "chat".
Call it the "informal formal written talk" (brevity: IFWT). This is extremely handy. And no wonder its getting more and more popular.
Chat takes the best of written and spoken worlds.
1. Saves time
2. Keeps record
3. Stays informal
4. Interactive
Unfortunately a of people mess this up.
Lets start with a very common scenario.
Though chat is a interactive thing.. people are tied up with other work so you have to be prepared for delays in responses.
Since the person you seek to has less idea of what you want so its your onus to move forward in the process. (at least in the beginning)
Another scenario.
Lesson 2: Set the context
It is very important to set up the context for any issue. There's a lesser chance of being misinterpreted. In this case, c2 could have also avoided the situation by proactively asking. Which app, where etc. But I am going to stay focus here on how the seeker can get things right.
Lesson 3: Make no assumptionsAs far as possible try giving as much information as possible, and make know assumptions about your helpers knowledge on your specific setup. It doesn't hurt to repeat yourself. A wrong advice does!
Lesson 4: Be Grateful
Again, it is you who needs help. Be polite, use smileys, and always thank him for his time!
Lesson 5: Talk to the right person
Its a very good idea to start with telling the person why you are talking to him in the first place. Especially when you are talking to someone you don't interact very often. He should know where you are coming from and whether or not he is supposed to/able to address your issue.
Lesson 6: Be a good listenerThis is very important. You have to tell your issue and not your ideas about the solution. So its very important for you to get rid of any preconceived notions. Your ideas about the cause of the problem can mislead him into thinking in the same way as you. And essentially end up in the same seat.
Of course you will always find in slots to put in your views/opinions/experiments. Don't just throw it all at him at once!
Most of this is applicable for email communication as well. But the anti-patterns described are more common over chat.
Very often you have issues and often you have to seek help from a colleague or an expert in that field.
Quite a fraction of this (typically) "seeking help" thing happens in a rather informal way. Apart from the coffee tables and over the desk medium this includes "chat".
Call it the "informal formal written talk" (brevity: IFWT). This is extremely handy. And no wonder its getting more and more popular.
Chat takes the best of written and spoken worlds.
1. Saves time
2. Keeps record
3. Stays informal
4. Interactive
Unfortunately a of people mess this up.
Lets start with a very common scenario.
Lesson 1: Get to the point quickly
c: hi.. 04:50 am
s: tell me.. 05:00 am
c: you there? 05:10 am
s: yes! 05:15 am
c: hi 05:15 am
----- no response from s ----
----- c continues with his greetings ----
Though chat is a interactive thing.. people are tied up with other work so you have to be prepared for delays in responses.
Since the person you seek to has less idea of what you want so its your onus to move forward in the process. (at least in the beginning)
Another scenario.
c1: hello
c2: hi
c1: i am getting a segfault when i start the app
c2: ohk.. i know why this happens. run the xyz script. should be okay..
c1: theres no such script! the environment is f!@#ed!
--- follows a special invesitgation ---
c2: damn! i thought you were talking about application foo!
Lesson 2: Set the context
It is very important to set up the context for any issue. There's a lesser chance of being misinterpreted. In this case, c2 could have also avoided the situation by proactively asking. Which app, where etc. But I am going to stay focus here on how the seeker can get things right.
Lesson 3: Make no assumptionsAs far as possible try giving as much information as possible, and make know assumptions about your helpers knowledge on your specific setup. It doesn't hurt to repeat yourself. A wrong advice does!
Lesson 4: Be Grateful
Again, it is you who needs help. Be polite, use smileys, and always thank him for his time!
Lesson 5: Talk to the right person
Its a very good idea to start with telling the person why you are talking to him in the first place. Especially when you are talking to someone you don't interact very often. He should know where you are coming from and whether or not he is supposed to/able to address your issue.
Lesson 6: Be a good listenerThis is very important. You have to tell your issue and not your ideas about the solution. So its very important for you to get rid of any preconceived notions. Your ideas about the cause of the problem can mislead him into thinking in the same way as you. And essentially end up in the same seat.
Of course you will always find in slots to put in your views/opinions/experiments. Don't just throw it all at him at once!
Most of this is applicable for email communication as well. But the anti-patterns described are more common over chat.
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