Curse of knowledge

Cognitive bias where a person doesn't understand that others don't share the context, experience and knowledge that they have.

It's apparent in product development where lots of designers and engineers (unconsciously) assume everyone to have the knowledge of their product. They have to be reminded that it's not the case.

It can also lead to ineffective communication because the audience might not understand what we're trying to communicate without the assumed context.

To battle this when communicating, start with why.

Some questions that can be helpful to answer up front before presenting something:

• Why are we doing this?
• Why can’t we keep doing what we’re already doing?
• How much more work is this going to be for me?
• Is this going to benefit me/my team in any way?
• How will we know if this is working?
• How is this going to be different from (some previous change that went terribly wrong)?
• What are the tradeoffs we’re willing to make to get this done?

Tags: communication product design design psychology

ID: 2021-1004-0817

References: https://www.cindyalvarez.com/how-to-stop-the-curse-of-knowledge-from-ambushing-your-communication/?utm_source=pocket_mylist