Trouble Connecting with Users: How to Put Users First

Speakers: Brandon Dewar

Level: All Levels, Lecture

Excerpt: Have you ever had trouble connecting with users? Do you use too much technical jargon when speaking with users? This session will focus on how to relate to users better, how to decipher their issues, and how to keep your user’s happy. We’ll also discuss concepts to keep you happy, such as, time management and time management applications.

Description: Working with non-technical users can sometimes be frustrating. A user may report an issue that makes little sense or is hard to decipher. When explaining a solution, a user may look at you like you are speaking a foreign dialect, or their expectations for a resolution time are completely unrealistic. Can you change their behavior or your happiness?
During this session we will discuss techniques to help your users communicate with you better, to help you communicate with them better, and how to set realistic expectations for your users. There are several tools that can be helpful with managing your day, calendar, and peace of mind, these will be discussed. We will review the methods that users prefer to utilize when interacting with support and how to implement these methods into your structure.
Happiness is key and being able to manage your day better, while providing excellent support to your users will help to keep your users and yourself happy. We’ll touch on techniques that can be helpful when you are stressed, when everyone wants your attention at the same time, and when frustration begins.


About the speaker

Brandon Dewar – IT Administrator – PureRED

Brandon is currently the IT Administrator for PureRED in Pittsburgh, PA, supporting a user base that is 99% Mac. Prior to PureRED, he worked in desktop support for a national education system, desktop support for a creative organization, and desktop support and server administrator for a non-profit organization. Brandon holds a degree in Information Technology and several IT certifications. In his roles, he has implemented support systems that support onsite and remote users. Recent projects have included implementation of software management, improved support structure, network and server upgrades, IT project management, development of user self-service tools, integration of new page building technology, and font consolidation and best practices.

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