Short answer: No.
I know that might sound abrupt, but let me explain. Much like how you’re discouraged from feeding the animals at the zoo, there are solid reasons why it’s not in anyone’s best interest—yours, mine, or the programmers—to have you speak directly with them. After years of working with programmers (and being one myself), I wrote this to shed light on why talking to the programmer is often a bad idea. Here are the top five reasons:
1. They Don’t Want to Talk to You (And It’s Not Personal)
Programmers are specialists who excel at problem-solving and building great things. They’re not in this line of work because they enjoy client-facing conversations or meetings. If they did, they would have chosen a different career path—one that involved sales, consulting, or account management.
Picture this: you build house foundations for a living. Do you want to spend your day fielding questions from homeowners about why their grass isn’t growing evenly? No. You want to focus on your expertise: laying solid, functional foundations that stand the test of time. Programmers are the same. Their focus is on building the technical foundation for your project—and doing it well.
It’s nothing against you personally; they’re just laser-focused on the work itself.
2. Programmers Can Take Things Too Literally
There’s an old joke about a wife who tells her programmer husband, “We’re out of bread. Please go to the store and buy one. And if they’ve got eggs, get six.” He returns with six loaves of bread.
This isn’t far from reality. Programmers are wired to interpret things literally. It’s why we gather requirements upfront and turn them into detailed specs—to avoid misunderstandings that can derail a project.
3. I Don’t Want You to Talk to Them (For Good Reasons)
Over 20+ years in this business, I’ve seen it all. I’ve watched good projects go sideways because direct communication between clients and developers led to confusion, over-promises, or worse—misunderstood scope and blown budgets.
Here’s the truth: programmers can do just about anything, but that doesn’t mean everything is realistic within your budget or timeline. If you ask them for something ambitious, they may genuinely want to say yes because they’re problem-solvers at heart. But they don’t always see the bigger picture—the business perspective that requires timelines, budgets, and specific deliverables to be met.
4. Programmers Could Hurt Your Feelings
Programmers spend most of their time working with code, not people. They’re logical, efficient, and sometimes brutally honest. If they think an idea doesn’t make sense, you might hear it phrased as, “That’s a stupid idea.” Ouch. It’s not personal, but it can feel that way.
5. You’re Going to Interrupt Their Flow
Programmers thrive in what’s called a “flow state,” a deep level of focus where their best work happens. Interrupting them—even for what seems like a quick question—can break that flow. Once it’s broken, it can take up to 30 minutes to get back into the zone. That lost time adds up.
The Solution
Obviously, somebody has to talk to the programmer—and that’s where I come in. My job is to act as the bridge: I take your goals, ideas, and feedback and translate them into clear, actionable tasks for the programmers. This keeps the process efficient, structured, and focused, while protecting everyone’s time and sanity.
Trust the Process
At c7.ca, my goal is to deliver results. Programmers are a key part of that, but their brilliance shines brightest when they’re left to do what they do best: build. By letting me act as the go-between, you ensure everyone stays focused, timelines stay on track, and budgets remain intact.
So, can you talk to the programmers? No. And trust me—that’s a good thing.
