Recognize the key vocabulary shaping your professional practice and share those keywords with your clients.

Posted by FFW on Thursday, August 7, 2008

From ArchNewsNow:

WORDS THAT BUILD: Respecting Key Words as Materials for Building Durable Structures

Tip #5: Recognize the key vocabulary shaping your professional practice and share those keywords with your clients.

By Norman Weinstein
August 5, 2008

Editor’s note: This is the fifth of an exclusive series by Norman Weinstein focusing on the overlooked foundation of architecture: oral and written communication.

How often do we hear a client wanting a building with a particular “style� and “function?� Your job is to thicken the conversation by gently asking questions about what the client means by “style� and “function� – in the most charming manner you can conjure. This questioning goes far beyond the literal denotative, dictionary-based definition of the words. The terms have a specific weight, color, durability under stress, and sustainability associated with your practice. While the word “function� in architectural communication can hold 1,001 meanings, your challenge is to communication the most salient sense of what makes one of your building designs functional in ways a client can appreciate.

Get the full article at ArchNewsNow.com