How to deal with Technophobes ?

That is all anyone wants to hear.
And throw something in about the massive productivity capabilities. Just explain how it does that. Finish on a note where they win and understand the words.

Focus on the business, the business process, and how this technology enables better execution of the business process - NOT technology driving the process.
Then try the money angle.

A person should always address their audience, not expect the audience to acquiesce to him or her. A speaker, or teacher, or presenter should never talk down to an audience, so to speak, nor talk over their heads. Imagine William F. Buckley in his most academic and high-brow manner discussing politial theory with an eighth grade civics class. It just wouldn't work.

Look at the situation from their perspective. What are their expectations from the system, and what do they hope to gain by attending the meeting explaining the system? I'm not suggesting to merely tell them what they want to hear, but rather, in some cases, you have to give them what they want, not what you expect them to want.

Using an automobile analogy, a person may not want to be bothered by having to listen to detailed explanations about the inner-workings of a fuel injection system, but rather only the fuel efficiency ratings and how it might effect them. They may not care how it works, and they may not even need to know; they just want to know what the results will be.

Computers are the bane of my existence even though I've been working in this field since 1967.

I hate the computer in my car that flashes "Coolant Level Low" in the dead of winter and forces me to open the car from the passenger's side to avoid triggering the alarm and would cost about $1,200 to replace--if I can find one. I hate the computer in my range that is so baffling that I still haven't figured out how to bake something. I hate the computer in my answer machine that decides that since I didn't answer the last call I must not be home so now it picks up calls before they even ring audibly. I hate the computer in my thermostat that will let me change the temperature tonight or let me change the temperature for all future nights, but not both at the same time.

But I reserve my worst hatred for Windows. I thought the old home-grown mainframe software was built by programmers for programmers, but I'm a programmer and even I can't figure out how to make Windows do what I want more than about 90 percent of the time.

Most non-IT people are like me. They are absolutely fed up with the "progress" that computers have added to their life. The fact that absolutely nothing works reliably anymore because there's a computer in it somewhere. The fact that what used to be simple, if slow, clerical processes now require them to learn something that is half foreign language and half foreign car.

They will NEVER be glad to see you because they don't frelling WANT what you're selling. Not now, not ever. They want you to go away and stay away and leave the world in some semblance of order.

It doesn't matter how much money you claim you will save them. They know that the first time your software fails in production, it will cost the company more in lost sales, customer goodwill, employee morale, and perhaps even regulatory compliance, than you could possibly save them in a lifetime.

This isn't "Luddism." This is how the world looks through the eyes of the six billion people who don't WANT to have to learn how to be software mechanics in order to get through a normal day.

1) If they're business people, ITgirli is right...talk business sense to them...not about active application level security or user authentication or whatever. They don't want tech details if they're business people...they want business details.

2) if they're an administration *over* an IT department, that means they run it...not that they are knowledgable in the skills of those who function under them. Just talk broad tech details with them. If they ask you for more, then get more detailed.

that's all I can suggest.

I would approach it in terms of "here's how this impacts you" (where "you" is whomever they're checking on behalf of). It's all about the benefits, not the features, of what you're doing. Most of my clients could care less what I'm doing from a technical standpoint - they just want to know that their server is less likely to crash and halt their business because of it. On rare occasions they like to hear a little technical stuff about something they read about in PC World, but those conversations are generally short and still end up on the benefits side, a la: "it's a good technology, but it's not right for your business".

Same thing applies in a traditional company environment (unless you have a micromanager for a boss) - you don't need to know every single query and field I'm running in my SQL pull; just know that I'm competent and I will get you the data you need. The latter is the benefit - I get you what you need.

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Not only that, but I refuse (or am to friggin' cheap) to buy television. I don't have cable, and I don't have satellite; I just have a set of old rabbit-ears. And All VCRs today, or so it seems, are designed to work in conjunction with a cable.

But I refuse to give in -- even though they committed the biggest double-cross in the history of television. I've been a loyal watcher of Monday Might Football since it first aired in 1970. I'll bet I haven't missed more than a couple dozen Monday night games in 35 years. And now, THE BUMS ARE MOVING IT TO ESPN. But I will not pay. I won't. I won't. I won't.

(I wonder if someone will tape them for me.)

ever, you'll put them off.
Answer their questions, not ones you would have asked in their position based on your skillset and knowledge.
As a developer I'd be interested in permissions, the guy who signs the cheques to buy what I recomend though is only interested in that I'm recomending it. Their decision is based on that, not the super duper permissions system.

Thanks for all the tips guys !

Well, in this instance, I had the non-tech person grilling me about things such as permissions and who can see what, and what a password is, and who can get them , and why can we not see every detail, and why does this box do that, and why should we have to click this button,etc,etc,etc. And then they were taking that information to thier boss. So it was a case of, they were asking, i had to tell them. I tried to be un-technical, yet professional at the same time..
I tried guys, i really did *sob* but they just kept coming at me..and yes..i now believe i am becoming a
*technophobephobe* !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a new note, just got delivery of a brand new pc. spent all my day playing and configuring..now to install "the software". should take me another..oh..week ? 18 disks for Visual Studio..whats the deal with that..i'm sure 3 would have done :)

i feel like a small child..i want to run around and cry out " I've got a new com-pu-ter ! nah nah nah nah nah"

life is good.. oh..i threw out my VCR..have DVD player..haven't a clue how to use it. it keeps turing on everything i turn my TV on..dunno..