I have been reading Made To Stick lately. Why? Well, I am always interested to find out how to communicate better. I am not very good at it, and there is tremendous room for improvement. So, I am working on it, one step at a time.
The Heath brothers mention in the book a study conducted in 1990 by Dr. Elizabeth Newton with Tapper and Listeners. The Tappers were asked to tap a favorite and common song, like Happy Birthday to You, while the Listeners were supposed to guess it. The Tappers thought that at least 50% of the Listeners should be able to guess the song right. In reality, only 2.5% of the Listeners were able to guess the tune right!
Some would say that this is very obvious! After all, the Tappers had the tune running in their head when they tapped, but the Listeners did not and hence it was a very difficult task for them to guess. The Tappers had the Curse of Knowledge.
We all have that Curse of Knowledge - when we write a proposal for a grant, or when we give a presentation about our work, or when we think that our idea will revolutionize how the world works,.... The question is how should we be able to effectively communicate our ideas to the "Listener" such that they can 'get it' all the time. Very difficult challenge indeed!
Well, when I figure out the secret, I will let you know. The answer is one of the biggest challenges in business and well as in life. After all getting the point across is the what every human being strives for, in personal and professional life.
The Heath brothers mention in the book a study conducted in 1990 by Dr. Elizabeth Newton with Tapper and Listeners. The Tappers were asked to tap a favorite and common song, like Happy Birthday to You, while the Listeners were supposed to guess it. The Tappers thought that at least 50% of the Listeners should be able to guess the song right. In reality, only 2.5% of the Listeners were able to guess the tune right!
Some would say that this is very obvious! After all, the Tappers had the tune running in their head when they tapped, but the Listeners did not and hence it was a very difficult task for them to guess. The Tappers had the Curse of Knowledge.
We all have that Curse of Knowledge - when we write a proposal for a grant, or when we give a presentation about our work, or when we think that our idea will revolutionize how the world works,.... The question is how should we be able to effectively communicate our ideas to the "Listener" such that they can 'get it' all the time. Very difficult challenge indeed!
Well, when I figure out the secret, I will let you know. The answer is one of the biggest challenges in business and well as in life. After all getting the point across is the what every human being strives for, in personal and professional life.
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