My name is Yamini Naidu, and I’m an addict

I’m addicted to the New York Times puzzle game Connections. Do you play it too?

In Connections, you group 16 words into categories based on their connection. Recently, some categories have sparked massive online debates!

Like sen, sight, sine, and sour. Who would’ve thought these are numbers with ‘s’ replacing the first letter? Sen/Ten, Sight/Eight, Sine/Nine, Sour/Four. It’s nearly impossible to guess, right? No wonder every Connections addict (me included) had a tantrum.

Connections editor Wyna Liu and her talented team work hard to make the puzzles challenging and satisfying. But sometimes, like all experts, they fall victim to the ‘Curse of Knowledge’.

The Curse of Knowledge means the more familiar you are with something, the harder it is to put yourself in the shoes of someone who is not.

This (made-up) category made perfect sense for the editorial team. The editorial team of experts has a lot of hard-won context in their heads that their audience is not privy to.

So, what is easy for an expert to understand is a sinkhole for their audience. This knowledge gap makes your audience feel frustrated and disconnected.

When I introduce Curse of Knowledge in my storytelling masterclasses, it’s like a lightbulb moment. Leaders immediately see how their expertise alienates their audience.
One of my clients recently shared a gem. He heads a technical team, and they emailed the entire organisation about a new process change. My client got this one-line reply from the CEO, ‘Please resend this in plain English’. Ouch!

The solution to Curse of Knowledge isn’t always simplifying your content, as you don’t want to be patronising.

But the Curse of Knowledge is a real threat. It can cost you clients and opportunities or stall your career.

As an expert, you might be cursed too. Tough love, sorry. So, how do you beat it?

There are two ways. First, stop learning — not a good idea! Second, use stories.

In technical fields, where data rules, stories bring your facts to life. Stories connect with and inspire your audience.

Your next step? Use this worksheet to check if you have the Curse of Knowledge. The worksheet lists key practical steps to overcome this curse and takes less than 2 minutes to complete.

Complete the worksheet and guarantee that your messages hit home every time.

Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash