9 Comments
User's avatar
Anton Zaides's avatar

Great article. I can totally relate to your experience with the refactor :)

Your tips apply also to written communication. I have a tendency to write very long messages that nobody read, but do fully explain everything! :)

The pyramid approach works much better, or BLUF - bottom line up front. Then I share links to deep dive, or write more explanations in the Slack thread instead of the main message, in case someone wants to read it.

Expand full comment
Achraf's avatar

Thanks !

Yeah it also applies to written communication, but I have more targeted tips coming in the next issues ! (btw if you have some, I'd be happy to hear about them !)

Yes, the pyramid approach is a really great way to talk about something, with the context coming in a second time (which mean people who are busy can just skim it, instead of looking for the "core" point)

Expand full comment
Anton Zaides's avatar

I think Wes Kao's article about it is a master piece: https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/start-right-before-you-get-eaten-by-the-bear

Expand full comment
Achraf's avatar

Oh never read it, i'll give it a read, thanks for the recommandation !

Expand full comment
Kago Kagichiri's avatar

It's really hard to turn something you like and know instinctually will be awesome and turn that into questions & the 4th wall. And we haven't even talked about how to get our frenemies onboard.

Expand full comment
Bastien Vélitchkine's avatar

Becoming a better storyteller was my 2023 yearly resolution (no joke). So I've read lots of content and it turns out that the best things I've read for practical advice were:

- Do You Talk Funny, a book

- https://www.julian.com/blog/storytelling

And the best inspiration I got, was from Shaan Puri, host to the pod My First Million. He's a natural.

Expand full comment
Achraf's avatar

Didn't know about "Do you Talk Funny"

And you talk so much about julian that I stumbled upon the storytelling part of his website

Never heard the "My First Million" podcast, I'll give it a try

Thanks for sharing !

Expand full comment
Denis Loginoff's avatar

Was 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 discussing all of this while prepping a talk with a younger engineer 😅 (btw the learning went both ways!)

Expand full comment
Achraf's avatar

Hahahaha, yeah it's a recurrent topic, hope your talk went well !

Expand full comment