It's been 3 minutes and we're staring at my 6 y.o niece laying as still as she can (face down) on the floor.
"Aeroplane? - chocolate bar?" "phone?"
We're playing charades, shouting out random objects in the hope one of them with be correct. "carpet, pen, ruler"
"You might have to add something more," my brother says but she still remains in the same position.
The timer ran out 2 minutes ago
Her sister is getting annoyed, "Try something else."
"What's the word?"
She gets up off the floor laughing and turns the game card to show us her word.
"Ironing board," she says.
The Curse of Knowledge stems from a simple premise: the more you know about a subject, the harder it becomes to imagine what it's like not to know it.
Authors Chip and Dan Heath in their book Made to Stick described the curse of knowledge as "Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has “cursed” us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can’t readily re-create our listeners’ state of mind." In 1990, Elizabeth Newton, a Stanford psychology grad demonstrated the Curse of Knowledge by asking a group of students to tap the rhythm of a popular song on a table to another group of students with the listeners asked to guess the song. Over the course of the experiment, 120 songs were tapped out. When the “tappers” were asked to predict how many of their “listeners” would guess the song correctly, they predicted about 50%. The actual percentage of listeners who guessed the song correctly was a mere 2.5%. (1 in 40 songs) And as writers and speakers, we’re all tappers. We all overly estimate how much our readers will understand our message. We assume that our reader has the same level of knowledge as us, and talk from our place of knowledge and point of view rather than from theirs. This communication gap can result in making your content less accessible with potential customers feeling disengaged, and ignored. Here are 7 ways to break the curse of knowledge and write technically
1) Use simple words and be clear Don't make your audience work to understand your message.
It’s better to be too clear than slightly technical.
If you're unsure about the level of your audience it’s best to assume your readers know nothing and simplify your content.
Break up your sentences. Find those 30-40 word sentences and chop them into bite-size paragraphs or listicles.
Mailchimp does a good job chunking their words.
2) Use your Reader's Words Avoid using jargon and buzzwords and stick to using your audience's language.
Unless you’re writing for industry peers or colleagues, try to avoid words that are not familiar to anybody outside your field. You might think that you’re not being technical, but your audience will appreciate your content being accessible.
3) Use visuals.
About 65% of people are visual learners, meaning they absorb information better and faster when images are used to explain.
Compelling visual content and Infographics make it easier to digest data.
(source Edrawsoft)
4) Add an explanation If you still have to use technical terms, make sure you add an explanation or clarification. You can add links or use a simple threading technique.
For example: Read these sentences:
Question: Where is the bird?
Did you have to go back and read it again?
Each sentence requires a new image which makes your brain work harder to reengage and understand.
Now try this:
Threading is a way to explain something complex in a simple way.
Threading is when you thread your sentences together by connecting a new concept to an old one or one that your audience is already familiar with.
By joining the end of a sentence with the beginning of the next sentence, each new concept is linked and helps your audience follow along. Now where is that bird?
5) Ditch the abstract and get specific Leaders often speak in abstractions.
We've all read mission statements that leave us scratching our heads.
Instead of usual vague promises: "Our mission is to provide our customers with the best service experience.”
Try and write specifically.
"Our Customer Service mission is to answer every phone call within three rings and to resolve problems within 7 working days.”
6) Provide examples. Harness the power of visual metaphors, comparisons, and mental images which are great for abstract concepts. This is a compelling way to help your readers picture what you’re saying. We do this all the time when we speak, so why not use it in your copy? It can take the form of a metaphor or a simile, as long as it paints a picture.
By giving visual examples your reader can make sense of things, using information they already understand.
Apple does an amazing job by comparing its technology to our human bodies.
They name their features "Neural Engine," "Liquid Retina," "Touch ID," which help their customers create a comparative context to its technology.
7) Lastly use people within your community who aren't knowledgeable about the subject such as family, friends, or colleagues to review your communication.
Try and explain your topic to them in the simplest of terms - Do they understand it? Then get them to tell you what they think you are trying to explain.
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