The power of great technical translation
I've always been drawn to roles where communication and technical translation are key to success. In STEM fields, effective communication is often overshadowed by technical credentials, sometimes creating a blind spot in how talent is evaluated. The ability to translate complex concepts across different audiences is really important to teamwork and innovation.
Ineffective products or initiatives are developed when meetings have fragmented understandings across teams. For example if engineers are speaking one language, regulatory experts another, and clinical data managers yet another then it’s likely the wrong product might be made and stall progress. It’s critical teams invest time in technical translation so everyone is working on the same problem and solution together.
I’ve encountered friction when recommending time spent "dumbing down" technical concepts —sometimes people perceive that time as wasted not solving the actual problem. This view misunderstands how collaborative work happens. Even the most brilliant individual contributors in technical roles need to provide clear documentation on their code and comprehensible feedback on others' work. People need to be able to articulate what they're working on and why it's valuable to anyone in the company. Without effective translation, fantastic work remains invisible or, even worse, misused or misunderstood.
Technical translation techniques
Breaking down complex topics into digestible chunks that different audiences can understand is a skill that I love to develop and practice. Different people need different styles of communication.
Some techniques I've found effective include:
Starting with the "why" before touching the "how"
Creating visuals for abstract concepts
Taking notes in a shared location so everyone is seeing the output of the conversation and can make edits immediately if there’s a misunderstanding
Using consistent vocabulary across teams. Even better, build a shared glossary for frequently used technical terms.
Comprehension techniques
Once you’ve broken down a topic, there’s the important step of assessing comprehension. In schools we have exams to test comprehension but obviously that’s not relevant in the professional setting. Some techniques I’ve found effective include:
Having teams create a visual representation of the topics that ties everything together
Get individuals from different teams to identify specific follow-up actions based on the topic
While it may require more effort at the beginning to ensure everyone understands the full picture, the time investment will enable early alignment and strong collaboration. When engineers understand regulatory constraints, when data scientists understand the complexity of clinical operations, and when executives understand technical tradeoffs, teams can work together rather than disconnected silos fighting for resources.
