Think and talk about the functional problem instead of thinking and talking about a specific technical solution. And the next level above that: think and talk

Think and talk about the functional problem instead of thinking and talking about a specific technical solution. And the next level above that: think and talk about the business problem the proposed functionality is intended to address. Making the distinction between requirements, functional design and technical design is very helpful, but in many places this has been obscured and rendered difficult by bureaucracy and process.