It’s Dumb Not To Dumb It Down
Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend a presentation by Chip Heath, one of the authors of one of my favorite books, Made to Stick, who is now in the middle of a nationwide tour to promote his new book, Switch. After the short presentation (which was awesome!), I stood in line like a rabid teenage pop star fan and got my free copy of Switch signed, as you can see.
Sweet!
During the lunch that followed, I ended up debriefing a friend about some of the principles in Made to Stick, which he had yet to read. One of the topics that came up, was “The Curse of Knowledge”. (Insert sinister laugh here.)
The “Curse of Knowledge” is best illustrated in a little game that you can play with a friend. Try it out:
Find a friend, and tell him or her you’re going to tap the rhythm to a song, and they have to try and guess what it is. Try a song that’s simple, like “Happy Birthday”, or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” – a song that we all should know.
You would think that it would be easy for your friend to guess the songs that you’re tapping, however in most cases, you’ll find that they will not be able to figure it out. I’ve done this several times, and I’m usually left baffled that my friends can’t even recognize some of the most famous and simple tunes.
In fact, in a study by Elizabeth Newton nearly 20 years ago, it was determined that the listeners would correctly name the tapped song only 2.5% of the time, while the tappers predicted that the listeners would at least get it right half of the time.
Here it is explained a little further in Made To Stick:
“The problem is that tappers have been given knowledge (the song title) that makes it impossible for them to imagine what it’s like to lack that knowledge. When they’re tapping, they can’t imagine what it’s like for the listeners to hear isolated taps rather than a song. This is 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.”
The Business That We’re In
We are in the business of teaching – imparting the knowledge and experience that we possess to others. However, as teachers, much like the tappers, we are “cursed” with the knowledge that we already have.
It’s difficult for us to put ourselves in the shoes of those less knowledgeable about whatever subject or niche we’re in, but in my opinion, it is those who are successful at doing so that grab more followers, gain more authority, and probably earn more too. The more you can put yourself in the shoes of those learning from you, the more successful you will be.
What makes it even harder for us is that not everyone who we are trying to teach is at the exact same level. Assume too much from our audience, and we might confuse (and lose) people along the way. Assume too little, and you might end up coming across as being offensive…
…or maybe not.
Dumbing It Down
I don’t really like to use the phrase “dumb it down” because it comes with sort of a negative connotation, like it’s for someone who is stupid, or “slow”. However “dumbing it down”, or explaining things in terms and methods that are easy to understand (relative to your audience) is something you should not be afraid of doing.
In fact, many people will appreciate the fact that you are making things easier to understand. In most cases, those who already know what you’re talking about will never even begin to think that you’re somehow making them feel stupid. Sometimes, it makes them feel better because they know they’re on the right track.
Because of this, it’s safer to “dumb it down”.
That being said, there is some common sense involved in regards to knowing who your audience is and what they already understand.
For example, you might be ok with me explaining how to search for definitions in Google like this:
Step 1: Go to http://www.google.com.
Step 2: In the search field, type in “Definition: word” (replace word with the actual word you’re looking to define), and press search.
Step 3: Read through the various definitions that show up in the results.
However, you might think I’m belittling you if I were to explain it like this instead:
Step 1: With your hand on top of your mouse, move the cursor (the arrow on your monitor) to the top of your screen and click on “FILE”, located on the left hand side.
Step 2: In the “FILE” menu, click on “Open a New Window”. A new blank window will appear on your screen.
Step 3: Using your keyboard, type in the following website address…
…and so on and so forth.
Because you’re here reading this, I have to assume that you at least know how to use a computer and make your way around the internet. But, can I assume that you already know how to search for definitions in Google?
No. But if you already knew how, and I went through a few simple steps, would you be mad at me?
Probably not.
How About “Breaking It Down”?
I like to use the phase”Break it Down” instead.
Besides being what I try to do on the dance floor, “breaking it down” means taking an idea, a thought, a goal, or something in it’s “whole form”, and breaking it down into smaller pieces so it’s easier to understand.
It’s reverse engineering.
In all of the eBooks I’ve ever written, I’ve always used “breaking it down” as the method of determining how I write and present my material. Over 10,000 copies later, I have yet to hear anyone tell me that the material in my eBooks are too easy to understand, or belittling.
So What Do You Think?
Have you noticed the “Curse of Knowledge” when other people have tried to teach you something? What do you do when you teach something to make sure your audience is on the same page as you?
Fact: Did you know that most local newspapers write for a 6th to 8th grade level of readership? Why do you think that is?
Posted on : March 15th, 2010
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59 Comments (Click Here to Leave a Comment Below)
This is something I’ve noticed myself as I’ve started taking on the teaching role more and more. It’s so easy to assume that everyone knows what you know. In fact, I sometimes feel like everyone _should_ know what I know, but I’ve realized that this isn’t the case.
I also have noticed this little voice in my head wanting to provide “advanced strategies” because if I just cover the basics, I feel like I’m not providing value, but that isn’t the case at all.
Once you start taking action, adjusting and learning what people like, you will start seeing what works and what doesn’t. Breaking it down into simple and understandable is what works, at least for me!
Hey Heni, it is hard to figure out what to assume about your audience, but I think you can still provide value while breaking things down at the same time, so that it’s easy for anyone at almost any level to understand what you’re trying to say, and learn from it.
Thanks Henri, and thanks again for your guest post last week. Cheers!
Hey Pat,
I find I do have a similar problem when writing articles for my audience. Some of my readers are, like myself, “lifehacking fanatics” – and I can’t be too basic in my approaches to productivity or I’ll bore them
On the other hand, I get a lot of first timers via Twitter and other social media who enjoy quick productivity tips, but aren’t as well versed as some of my long time readers. So I don’t want to write things that they can’t understand either.
What I’ve been doing lately is trying to pick out productivity topics that perhaps aren’t discussed much in books and on other blogs – so it’s still somewhat fresh to my loyal audience, but I can write it at a level that is somewhat introductory so as not to scare new people
=)
Sid
Great stuff, Sid. It is indeed tough to have a voice that will appeal to both those who are advanced, and those who are just beginners. But, I think what you said, bu picking unique topics that aren’t covered so often is a great way to appeal to both, not to mention standing out of the crowd in your niche and in Google’s eyes as well.
Nice!
I actually bought the book a few days ago (Make it Stick) so it’s funny you cover it here. Off topic but two books I highly recommend: Linchpin and Tribes. Both by Seth Godin but both awesome for those of us who are in this space.
Nice post, Pat.
Made to Stick is actually one of those books that I get jealous of others reading it for the first time, because it’s that good imho.
Thanks for the recommendations for Seth’s stuff. I LOVE the books I’ve read of his so far: Free Prize Inside, and Purple Cow. I’ll definitely pick up your recommendations for a listen.
Thanks Glen!
Good books Glen I liked tribes a lot now I am reading Linchpin, I’m on the resistance chapter. what a great book man I totally agree
Hey Pat,
I have a similar problem in my financial planning business. Some of our clients have quite an advanced level of knowledge about financial planning matters, others know very little.
When I meet with clients one-on-one, it’s easy to tailor the information to the person’s level of knowledge. When I blog or send out mail to all my clients, I need to be more careful to dumb it down.
I guess it all comes back to knowing your target audience well enough to understand where the average person’s knowledge is, and writing for them. You could always write two sets of articles – a basic version and the advanced version for those who want the detail.
Hi Allan – you could write two versions, but that becomes more work for you, and it can be tough to “divide” your following into various levels.
On this blog, I try to mix is up a bit so that those who are advanced can appreciate the more advanced articles, while commenting and providing their insight on the “less advanced” ones, and at the same time, the beginners can easily learn information from the beginner articles, while try and understand and learn new things or things to look forward to in the advanced articles. (Gosh I hope that makes sense, lol).
Anyways, thanks for your comment, Allan!
Pat, another thing to consider is how people like to receive information and learn about things.
Some are very visual and prefer pictures and diagrams (you’re good at that!). Others want the big picture only whilst others want detail and prefer writing over pictures.
I’ve presented financial plans to some clients where we’ve focussed on one page that provides a diagram of the strategy I’m suggesting. These people are very visual oriented and want to be able to see things. Other times we’ve glossed over that page and spent more time in the pages of detail to suit some clients.
I’m trying to translate this to my blog where I’ll use more diagrams and screenshots as well as video and audio to teach people. Hopefully within this mix of presentation mediums people can find something that suits them.
There’s a fine line sometimes between ‘breaking it down’ and patronising your audience; however given the choice I think I would always lean more towards patronising a few visitors by over explaining than bamboozle them with jargon.
Another pitfall to avoid is to using internal company jargon and expecting your customers to know what it means.
But I think the worse sin of all is to allow other departments (Personnel, Legal, IT etc.) to dictate the content of a website!
Hey David, where did that last sentence come from? Hehe!
I totally agree with you, that I’d rather take the chance to patronize a few people, instead of using terms and strategies that people might not yet understand, which might end up patronizing more people in return!
Cheers!
I guess I strayed from using the right language for ‘teaching’ to ‘selling’
By the last sentence, I meant that when a business becomes large, often other backoffice departments get a say in what goes on a website – and because they are one step removed from the final user, there is often a lack of understanding about the language of the customer.
An example would be when the Legal department insist on lengthy, cumbersome terminology into a landing page that should really use 6-8th grade language.
Or when the Buying Team insist a product is referred to as a Gizmo when the average Joe (and your potential customers!) know it as a Widget.
Reading your original post again, I can see why my last sentence was confusing!
I blog about using accounting and finance to better your business and financial life so, yeah, keeping things fun and zippy without sacrificing meaningful content is a fine line. I guess that is what teachers do all day long and that is what Pat and Henry and most of us do with our blogs, teach.
I don’t have a degree in education, but I bet in courses they teach future teachers about how to understand things from the Student’s point of view, so they can better know what and how to provide the information they are teaching. At least I hope they have courses like this.
Pat this is a great one! I got the book “Made to Stick” last week but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Gonna do it this week.
The concept of breaking it down is awesome. I usually make some assumptions as to how knowledgeable my readers are and I write accordingly. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to simplify a little bit more and show them the step-by-step. In fact, it also gives you more good stuffs to write about!
My strategy though is to always write for ONE person, who is the perfect reader based on your ideal reader profile (based on research and your own ideas). This way you can avoid the trouble of trying to tailor to everybody. You might lose some readers in a way, but they’re not in your target market to begin with.
It’s a good thing to revise the ideal reader profile occasionally as your audience mature too! Thanks for the great stuffs Pat.
Ken, I’ve used the “write for one person” strategy before, and it seriously works. In fact, I talk about that strategy in my free eBook, eBooks the $mart Way.
Thanks for the reminder of that technique, which I hope others implement when writing for blogs or articles as well.
All the best to you! Cheers!
Sharing is great and definitely a noble act especially in terms of knowledge, experience, talents, and so forth. Every each one of us is unique and our level of understanding is different from one another. Empowering others with our capacity of providing true value with our own teaching methodology is always been the greatest challenge. There is no exact or precise method to overcome the human capacity of analytical thinking…
In conjunction with our most cases as an information provider or as an educator, I am also seeking the best yet friendly formula that suits all level of understanding…at least for my niche. Despite the struggle, there is always a solution for every problems, from possible to impossible, like Pat’s proven formulas and achievements…
Thanks for your wonderful insight, Terrance. I think that everyone empowers the ability to teach others. It’s what humans (and some animals) have been doing since the dawn of time.
Pat! I’ve played that game with my sister and friend so many times, only I’m whistling a theme song. Apparently the tune came out perfectly from my end; to them it sounded like a cat dying and screaming. Now they won’t let me forget it, haha.
Point taken though. And wow 10k times?? Congrats!
Thanks Moon, I appreciate the congrats!
Tapping works best because there are no “notes”, which might help others who are more musically inclined to guess the tune, but yea – what sounds perfect to us can often sound foreign to others. That’s the curse!
Pat,
I have a question for you that was spurred on by this post. This post really made me think. Now please everyone don’t take offense to this the wrong way I’m merely saying this how it sounds in my head. But instead of dumbing it down, shouldn’t we be trying to bring people up (part that sounds bad ahead) to our level? As educators more or less, shouldn’t we be trying to help people better there lives and hopefully become more intelligent in the process instead of breaking it down on a basic level where they really don’t gain anything from it? IDK if that makes sense or not but it sounded right….
Hey Shaun,
No offense taken.
And you do bring up some good points. By teaching, we are in fact trying to bring people up. But, what I think is that in order to do this, we must speak in a way that’s easier for people to understand.
I disagree with you, however, when you say that “breaking it down on a basic level where they don’t gain anything from it.” I say, by breaking it down, they learn EVERYTHING from it.
Imagine an businessman with an MBA talking to a group of 4th graders, for example. We want to teach them things and help them learn, to become better students, but the MBA isn’t going to throw around terms that these kids won’t understand, at least not without breaking it down and explaining what it is. Can he assume that they know what dollar-cost averaging means, or standard deviation?
By breaking things down, you make things easier to understand, so they can become more intelligent.
Hey Pat,
Outside of blogging, I work as a college financial planner, I work with students and parents on a daily basis teaching them the ins and outs of financial aid, scholarships, student loans and the like. For me, it is extremely easy to understand, but when I first started in the job, I would attempt to explain this to my clients and all i got was dumb looks in response. I learned quickly to “break it down”. If I did not, I would fail to get any information across to my clients. I am actually amazed at how many people need me to repeat the same simple steps multiple times before they actually comprehend. It really doesn’t matter how intellectual you are, simple, easy to understand steps are easiest to remember. Sure you may comprehend what is being taught, but will you really retain that knowledge? Breaking it down has worked wonders for me!
Yes! Simple, easy to understand steps ARE the easier to remember.
Great real life example DJ, thanks for sharing your experience and how breaking it down has worked for you!
Pat… great post again. This is exactly why I keep coming back. My problem seems to be the opposite. I am so accustomed to speaking to others about what I do as a real estate virtual assistant, that I may have broke it down too far on my website as it is at an Elementary School level! However, with that being said, although you have to break it down for someone just starting out, at some point in your interaction, you would have to bring the level up some if they are to gain in knowledge. My guess on this would be in repeated interactions. Not some place like a blog or a website. I’ll definitely have to get this book to see if I’m going in the right direction here.
Hope you have a great week!
Hey Serita! Thanks for coming back again, and for your comment as well!
I think if you’re in a position to teach someone, and have the opportunity to keep interacting, that would be ideal. It’s like a classroom setting, where you learn new things, and then apply them to bigger and more complicated topics as time progresses, using what you learned from the past to help you understand even more things.
Have a great week too!
From what I understand, I think that a better phrase to use would be “to level your communication with your audience”. Although it’s longer. Hehe =D
Reminds me of Stephen Covey’s Habit #5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
The picture that comes into my mind is like an MBA teacher trying to explain stuff to grade school students. Let’s say he was transferred to teach grade school kids for now.
No doubt the MBA teachers knows way more than the grade schoolers. But wouldn’t it be logical for the MBA teacher to adjust to the level of understanding of the kids, and not the other way around?
Imagine the MBA teacher talking about integrated calculus and analytical geometry for economics to kids?
It’s not about the MBA teacher needing to act or speak dumb. But I think it’s the consideration (or listening) about the other person first that is the essence of communication. I believe that the kids won’t appreciate it if they can’t even understand what the MBA teacher is saying.
Because most people want to be heard first. I guess it’s just our nature. That’s why listening is a crucial step in establishing mutual understanding, regardless of anyone’s background.
Of courtesy and taking that first step to show respect to the other person.
This is just my humble opinion. =)
Ahh, I just replied to someone above using the MBA example similar to yours, lol.
Thanks for your comment, and “leveling your communication with your audience” definitely fits the description as well.
Thanks Jeric!
Hi Pat,
I think the better you understand your audience, the greater your chance of streamlining the material to suit their needs.
Most of the mistakes I’ve made relate to under and over-estimating the audience. Hard to get right when you start out.
I’d say it takes a good 6 months before you can really get a handle on what the readers want.
One way to do this is… ask.
Ask them what they want you to cover and then see if that’s what they want.
Oddly enough it may not be.
What they say they want (i.e. may be too far ahead of where they really are) and what they really want (based on looking at the stats) can be very different!
Trial and error, I guess!
Re newspapers… The Sun newspaper in the UK (one of the most popular redtops) uses 250 words. That’s it. TV news reports are not much different.
Hey Ivan,
Yes! Sometimes the best thing to do is just simply ask, and indeed – it’s all about trial and error. That’s how anyone gets to any point in their career and in their lives.
Thanks Ivan!
A little amazed at that only 2.5% recognize a song like Happy B-day. Will have to try it out on my wife when she gets home.
@Allan Ward – I’m also just getting started as a financial planner. When I’m talking to someone who has very little knowledge about anything finance related, I pretend as if I’m talking to my my little bros of sister, who lucky for me, have very little knowledge about finance.
It helps me feel more comfortable and my natural self to come out. Plus it helps a client, get to know the real me and understand better what I’m saying.
RJ, let me know how it goes!
I believe that keeping things simple or ordinary ( dumbed down) is key. Not to sound to religious on a blog comment but think of how knowledgeable Jesus and some of his apostles were, yet they spoke in simple words and easy to understand illustrations.
Good stuff.
I have not read made to stick yet (just some excerpts from inc. magazine. I have listened to Switch on mp3 (audible) and it is great !!
Have a great one man!
Brandon
Great example, Brandon! Totally makes sense.
Thanks, and have a good one too!
There are two ways that I find effective for me: 1) Write like you’re talking to a friend. 2) Read it out loud.
These ways show me if what I write sounds good, as well as sounding easy enough to understand. It does get tough sometimes, especially when you’re dealing with technical things, but keeping the conversation fun, light and real goes a long way.
Jewelry Secrets, I read my copy out loud too! In fact, I usually have my wife read it to me. It’s cool for her because she gets to practice her English and its cool for me because I get to here from someone who is not American and might have a different understanding of some of the more casual language I use.
Yep – I always read all of my blog posts and copy out lout too. And yep – keeping things fun and light will make it easier to teach people (for the most part, depending on what you’re talking about and who exactly your audience is).
Thanks!!
Hi Pat,
I ‘ve never liked the term “Dumb It Down” To say the least it can be insulting. This reminds me that as bloggers or communicators we need to be aware of how we come across to others. Some people just let it rip and that’s their style. However, I think there’s a limit or edge.
Breaking it Down or saying, “Let me explain” comes across so much more effective for me. One of the things I learned on copy blogger is to write like I am talking to 1 person or as Jewelry Secrets points a friend. I may even try to read my posts and listen to them next. ti,e.
I think the key is to strike a balance between not going over the edge and having a good time.
I’ve heard that before, that you are suppposed to write for a 6th grade level… sometimes it makes me wonder if my blog posts are too wordy
But I need things ‘dumbed’ down all the time so when I approach a project or client I try the old standby “keep it simple stupid!”
I’ve noticed this and have been burnt by this many times trying to explain how to do something in one of my software programs. The most natural thing for you to do is completely foreign for someone else. It always boggles my mind, but then I remember there are many things I need dumbed down too.
Pat, this was tremendous man. Love the analogy and can’t wait to use this experiment with my next seminar. It’s amazing how many small biz Web 2.0 classes I go to a year where the teacher is speaking at 10 levels higher than his or her audience. Same is true for companies when they teach about their products. They make that huge mistake of seeing things with their knowledge and understanding, NOT the ignorance of the customer, which is key…..If a speaker or writer can ever grasp this skill, just like you mentioned, they are unstoppable. Great stuff Pat!!!
Such a great insight! When blogging, I always remind myself to use simple words and not high-falluting words. Using simple words would be safer and I guess more effective because it is what most people will understand.
Pat, I don’t like the term, “dumbing down” either, but it’s truly something we have to do. I always “forget” that not everyone has the same base of knowledge as I do. When I first began freelancing I asked an editor friend of mine to look at my article and her advice was to always remember to, “Keep it simple,Stupid!” Now, that phrase always comes to mind when I write.
When writing anything on the Internet, I think it’s always worth remembering that much of your audience might not have English as their first language. So you owe it to them to keep things clear and simple.
In truth, no matter what you’re writing about, it’s the writer’s job to make things as clear as possible – to make things easier for the reader. I don’t think of it as dumbing down. I think of it as good manners.
I use the Ziglar method in my guitar lessons. “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell em what you told them.” Good post
I’m not sure I agree with the “Dumbing it Down” concept..I think more people just need to “Smarten Up!”
Yes, it is hard to know what is going through someone’s mind when your talking to them. We all have our own point of reference.
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[...] It’s Dumb Not To Dumb It Down [...]
I feel bad for this because I am like this, I think I “dumb it down” to much sometimes. And it’s because I just want to make sure that its understandable to everyone. I am thinking on behave of maybe someone that might be foreign like me you know? So I hope all my audience is okay with it.
Hey Pat,
This is an area I’ve really been trying to focus on recently with my aviation training business. A lot of advanced fans of mine keep asking, ‘why don’t you do something on this subject, or that subject?’. Usually those subjects are complicated, so I say, ‘You know, we all start somewhere. People just don’t know about that stuff yet. We’ve got to be MUCH more basic than that.’.
For instructing aviation, it’s REALLY important.
Cool thoughts.
Thanks
In the Instructional Design world we call this “task analysis.” You think differently when you’re writing and creating the documentation and computer based training for 15,000 people. We see this “curse of knowledge” from corporate leadership all the time; frustrated as to why people out in the field don’t “get it.” Best way to hedge against this is to BETA test (your posts, your ebooks, your blog, etc.).
Great reminder how what is obvious to us is not obvious to others. It makes it easier to understand why people still read magazines. Perhaps it means that articles that cover narrow topics are better than covering a topic in general?
Hi Pat,
Yet another great post! One of the things I really enjoy about your blog & posts are the lessons usually can be applied to more than just blogging. You insights apply to general sales, marketing, and business development as well.
Last fall I started a blog aimed at sales professionals, http://www.sellinghasvalue.com, which is slanted toward enterprise & B2B software sale and your posts are often inspiration. In fact I just posted one today that references this post, along with some of your insights, but in the context of technical software presentations.
Thanks again for providing such great and valuable content!
[...] it be obvious? Pat Flynn at The Smart Passive Income Blog says not and shows us that It’s Dumb Not To Dumb It Down and that we should be trying very hard to overcome The Curse of Knowledge. A very interesting and [...]
What you write Pat is true. Some of our greatest authors wrote in simple language – think Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway but in no way was their work a dumbing down, if anything it promoted thought, discussion and many a panicked student at lit exam time and to that point there was nothing dumbing about your article either.
Having said that I understand why you used that term … it is a term that has garnered substantial currency in the mainstream. That is where I direct my argument to – and it is a chicken and egg thing – is it the media and the entertainment world that keeps lowering the bar, or is it just a reflection of who we are? If the latter I would like to challenge those of us who blog or publish in any way or speak in public to resist the temptation to limbo and do pole vaults instead. Maybe we can start a reversal at the grass roots level, one word/term at a time.
Just my two cents worth ………………..
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[...] Pat Flynn - Its Dumb Not to Dumb it Down [...]