Helping experts share their know-how & novices to discover it
At the end of the last post – the first in a series of three – I asked how we can help experts make themselves understood?
So they beat the Curse of Knowledge and make helpful videos, podcasts, microblogs etc.
The Curse of Knowledge is a cognitive phenomenon. We can’t change the way the brain works, but we can take action to overcome its impact.
To do this, experts need to do three things:
How do you know what to say?
You don’t want to patronise people. And you definitely don’t want to short-change them. You want to be helpful. So it’s an easy mistake to make. I’ve done it myself. Several times.
Teaching practice was scary. I was scared of running out of things to say, or things for learners to do. I went into every session with enough material for a week. The thought of blank, bored faces was terrifying.
Here’s what my tutors said:
‘Your students are confused. Information overload. Again.’
Knowing what to say and what to leave out is tricky.
What makes people give up?
It’s disheartening, because you want people to get it. You want to help.
So what goes wrong?
Well, this story might help. I used to teach literacy skills to young people who had missed years of schooling. For some, writing more than two sentences was an achievement.
One day, Jess (not her real name) proudly gave me ten lines of writing – with no punctuation. To encourage her progress, I suggested she make it even better with some full stops.
Let’s be honest.
It’s a free-for-all out there.
More and more people are sharing what they know. It’s like a rush of prospectors searching for gold. So it’s hard to be heard.
Do you struggle to get people’s attention? Let’s dispel some doubts.
Your problem isn’t that you’re mining the wrong subject. Your problem isn’t that others got there first. And your problem definitely isn’t a lack of things to say.
Your problem is you’re sitting on the gold mine. But don’t know it.
rebecca@stickyteaching.co.uk
@stickyteaching