Most clients don't know web design, let alone Drupal. When jotting down the list of features a client wants on their next website, do yourself a favor and translate it into Drupalese.

What do I mean by Drupalese? Take what they ask for and break it down into the functional Drupal building blocks. By thinking about how a particular piece of functionality will be built right then and there, you can ask the right questions the first time and sidestep embarrassing miscommunication.

For example, if they mention that visitors can leave testimonials, how do you know if you should create a content type or a webform? Asking the right questions will quickly reveal the answer.

Once you've asked the right questions, you're left with a great start to your Development Plan and are in a much better position to accurately quote time and budget.

Learning objectives

This session goes into depth with some real world examples of requests we've gotten from clients and how we use Drupalese to turn them into Development Plans on the fly. We'll include tips and tricks for writing your own Development Plan from the ground up. When you leave, you'll be able to take what you know about Drupal and use it to better communicate with your clients.

Past experience

I've been a freelancer for as long as I've known Drupal, but most of the stories and examples for this session come from my experience at Enjoy Creativity over the past year and a half. I speak with very non-technical clients and project managers on a daily basis, and have learned many ways to improve our internal efficiency, professionalism, and prospect-to-sale conversions.

Who should attend

• Anyone who wants to improve communications with their clients
• Freelancers who want to increase sales and professionalism
• Project managers who want to provide greater service to their developers (and clients)
• Employees who need to figure out what their bosses are really saying