The curse of knowledge
The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias which means that we assume everyone knows as much as we do on a given topic. In other words, we say what we know and we assume others also know what we are talking about. This is a common communication problem because we always overestimate what people know about us.
We need to realize that other people don’t share our context, experience, or inner thoughts.
I don’t know if this also happens in other languages, but in Cantonese, the grammar structure is quite flexible, and very often people don’t speak in complete sentences. People always assume you know the “subject” they are talking about, so the subject is always missing in the sentence structure. Sometimes the “subject” is missing, sometimes the “object” is missing. This causes a huge communication problem as people have to guess what you are saying.
To overcome communication barriers, the first thing is to ensure correct grammar, seriously. Try to speak in complete sentences. People can’t read your mind and you would not want to waste time in explaining what you said again.
领英推荐
Second, put yourself in others’ shoes. Remove your assumptions and keep your communication as simple as possible. If you can’t explain things in a simple way, you probably don’t understand them well enough. Ask yourself, “If I was him/ her, would I be able to understand what I am trying to say?”.
Third, ask if they understand you or not. Sometimes people may not ask you for an explanation even though they have no clues about what you are talking about. This is very common, especially in power relations. Therefore, if you are in a higher position, make sure people understand you by asking them questions. A simple question like “Are you with me on this” or “Does that make any sense” will make a huge difference.
To conclude, the curse of knowledge is a common communication problem but there are ways to overcome it. You can first work on speaking in full sentences, then put yourself into others’ shoes and ask them questions.
If you like this newsletter and want to be inspired every week, make sure you subscribe to this newsletter "Say What You Want" and follow me as well. Thank you for reading and see you next week.
Human-centered Marketer ?? Leading through compassion
1 年Really interesting! I think it also happen when you are from different countries and your common language is English. Even when both people know English they have probably learned it in a different context. They may not share same expressions. And sometimes, we tend to translate sayings from our first language to English which can mix up a little bit things. As you said, keep it simple but clear. Express yourself in complete sentences and never assume the other person knows what you're thinking ??