Meeting expectations

September 12, 2007 | In Rants | No Comments

As a reporter, one of my jobs is to attend meetings. I have my standing county board meetings every Tuesday (except the 5th Tuesday, if there is one), in addition to meetings that pop up every so often. Public hearings, informational meetings and discussions on topics ranging from transmission lines to feedlots.

There is one thing I have found at many of these meetings: experts have a hard time understanding things at the base level. During a recent meeting that included a number of extremely technical subjects with scientific background, I was treated to explanations of things that needed explanation.

One of the most difficult things to do is express difficult things in simple terms. When you live so close to something, you don’t always see how someone else can’t understand what you’re saying.

I know I do this too. Technology isn’t an easy thing to grasp and I find myself using terms that the average person doesn’t come in contact with on a regular basis. It’s always my goal to explain things in simple terms, as a reporter it’s my job. The only problem is, I have to understand things completely as well. That isn’t always easy to do.

So next time you’re explaining something dealing with what you do, that others might not be in contact with regularly, take a step back and think about the time you first learned it. Go from there.