In their landmark book, Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath talk about what they call “The Curse of Knowledge” — a situation wherein professionals forget that what is common knowledge to them might be completely foreign to a newcomer or someone outside their industry.

I love this phrase, “The Curse of Knowledge”….

A few months back, I had a conference call with two top people from a company who asked if I might create a customized keynote for them. The business they’re in is not something I’m familiar with and so I was asking what exactly it was they did. After three rounds of this question in different formats, the two experts on the call could only respond using terms from their corner of the industry. I was still confused.

In the end, I called up a third individual who brought it all home for me in a simple, easily graspable analogy. “Ohhhh. NOW I get it.” But if I think back on those two from the conference call and ask myself, “Are they experts?” my answer is, “To a certain degree. Are they knowledgeable? Yes. Are they visionary leaders? No.” Their view is just too myopic.

Whether you’re in the financial services or insurance industry,
technology or health care, education or a cutting edge B2B offering, if you’re going to be a leader with influence and impact, and if you want to sell your product or service, it’s incumbent upon you to take what is obvious to you and turn it into something easily graspable to others.

So
1) think of one of the most complex,
complicated or confusing components at the core of your work.
2) then think of a crackerjack analogy and
3) see if the next person who serves your cup of coffee can understand it…remember it…and repeat it.