“Curses, foiled again!” — Snidely Whiplash

Over and over again, Snidely, the nemesis of our charming and, oh so very handsome, Canadian Mountie hero, Dudley Do-Right, was foiled in his attempts as Dudley continued to swoop in to save the day, and rid the world of evildoers. As most of us don’t have our very own Dudley to protect us, we need to protect ourselves. From what, you ask? Since we don’t know your particular business issues, we’ve decided to take on the all too current and relevant problem of “the curse of knowledge” and how it can impact your business communications in dangerous ways (even if you don’t get tied to the railroad tracks in the process). Let us explain what we mean.

How can knowledge be a curse for businesses?

Wikipedia defines the curse of knowledge as “a cognitive bias that occurs when an individual, communicating with other individuals, unknowingly assumes that the others have the background to understand”. For example, if you’ve ever played the party game Charades, you know how unbelievable you find it when your partners simply don’t get your clues. You think they’re great. They think you are doing a terrible job. No one wins. That may be okay at a party, but in business, not communicating effectively can create unwanted outcomes. For that reason, you need to recognize how your own knowledge can sabotage communications with your audience.

In business, the curse of knowledge affects us especially when we write. We don’t have any of the visual clues to gauge our reader’s reactions, nor is our reader able to ask us questions. But, if we can adjust our writing by channeling a less-informed version of ourselves, we begin to write in a way that has true meaning and value to our target clients.

“The curse of knowledge affects us particularly when we write. We don’t have the visual clues to gauge our reader’s reactions, nor is our reader able to ask us questions. By channeling a less-informed version of ourselves, we begin to write in a way that has true meaning and value to our target clients.”

6 easy ways to lift the curse of knowledge

Start by asking yourself, “How much does my audience know?”

If your audience is well-informed, you can skip to the good stuff. If not, bring information of value to them. To figure out your target audience, use the customer personas you’ve created.

Note to reader: see our recent posts “How a customer persona can help define your marketing strategy — and how to get started” and “I’m busy! Do I really need to create customer personas?” if you need some ideas.

  • Use real words. Simple, clear and easy to understand. People like that.
  • Engage your readers. Follow the clear and concise pattern we all learned in middle school. Have a beginning, middle and end.
  • Say what you mean. If your pizza delivery service guarantees 30-minute delivery, say that! Don’t say “in a reasonable amount of time”. Reasonable to whom?
  • Examples can help. They help your reader see themselves in the story because they can create a mental picture.
  • Speaking of pictures, use them. People are visual.
  • And always get an outside opinion. Working with a communications pro outside of your business is often very helpful.

It’s called a fresh perspective for a reason

Use outside resources to make sure you are connecting with your audience. Don’t expect Dudley to ride on in on “Horse” to save the day. And, yes, the name of his horse was Horse. Simple and easy to understand. Thanks, Dudley!

Does your business need a fresh perspective? Could you use some help making sure the way you’re “saying it” makes sense to your customers? The Lumen Marketing team can help ensure your business communications resonate.

Call us today at 720-722-2987 or click the blue button below to get in touch with us.

LIFT THE CURSE