These come across as ridiculously elitist- of course those are useful tips, but if i have a client who's going to say those code words, he's going to sound like

These come across as ridiculously elitist- of course those are useful tips, but if i have a client who's going to say those code words, he's going to sound like a chump. Definitely lean toward that side of the fence, but honestly, for any designer/developer, the most important thing you can have as a client is a clear idea of the direction you want to take. Have your idea prepared, write notes, know your competition - write it down. do your research!! once that's done, it's easy then to go ahead and deliver. before then, you are stuck in the loop of domain discovery which is just a time sink with no easy-way-out.