Communicating ideas requires overcoming the curse of knowledge

In Made to Stick, the authors argue that the essential challenge of good communication is overcoming the curse of knowledge.

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.^[1]

The stickiest ideas, they suggest, overcome the curse of knowledge by following six principles for SUCCESs: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories:

1. Simple – Simple communication expresses the core of an idea.
2. Unexpected – Unexpected communication violates expectations.
3. Concrete – Concrete communication explains in terms of human actions and senses.
4. Credible – Credible communication carries its own credentials.
5. Emotional – Emotional communication makes people feel something.
6. Stories – Story-based communication elicits effective responses.

The goal is to tell a Simple Unexpected Concrete Credentialed Emotional Story.

#communication

See also:

• Supercommunicators create learning conversations
• Miscommunication occurs when people are having different kinds of conversations