Here’s an experiment you can try the next time you’re with a group of people. Pick out a common song (“Happy Birthday,” for example) and clap it out in rhythm, then see if they can guess what it is. Before you do this, however, take a guess at how many people you think will correctly guess the song.
This was a real study done in the 1990 by a Stamford student named Elizabeth Newton. She instructed participants to clap out a number of well-known songs for other participants, and asked them beforehand how many people they thought would correctly guess what song it was. Participants guessed an average of about 50% – that is, they thought about half of the people would correctly guess.
In reality, only about 1 in 40 people correctly guessed. It was about 2.5%. Participants would clap the song with their hands, and the other participants would listen and shrug, not recognizing it.
Why is this? Well, this is part of a phenomenon that’s been named “The Curse of Knowledge.” Knowledge isn’t a curse, to be sure, but it can definitely affect the way we interact with others when they don’t have that knowledge. In this study, for example, the song was obvious to the clappers – they could hear the notes of the song in their head as they clapped in rhythm. The listeners, however, did not know the song, and all they heard was the clapping. What was painfully obvious to one group was almost completely lost on the other group.
You see The Curse of Knowledge play out all sorts of places. If you’ve ever played charades, you may recall the frustration of acting out the Titanic by spreading your arms out wide, as if you were on the prow of a ship, and thinking, “Why is no one GETTING this?!” Or how about when you’re trying to mime to someone across the room to get that other person’s attention, and they shrug and mouth, “What? I don’t-” and you throw your arms up, wondering how they’ve made it this far in life without injuring themselves.
You see the Curse of Knowledge in the world of education. I’d bet several months’ pay that everyone reading this has had at least one teacher who was an expert in their field, but wasn’t the best at teaching it. Perhaps they would cover the material too fast, and then turn and say, “All right, now you try!” to a bunch of raised eyebrows. Perhaps they used the phrase “Look, it’s easy!” Like J.R.R. Tolkien used eagles to rescue his characters. Or maybe they just showed you a topic once and expected you to know it like they did.
The Curse of Knowledge can be poison to employees and their development. When a new hire comes on board, a manager who becomes impatient with a new hire for not knowing something yet can make that new hire feel like it’s unsafe to ask questions. And a new hire who doesn’t feel safe asking questions is a new hire who makes mistakes, and then hides them. Subject Matter experts who fall into the Curse of Knowledge can hurt their own efforts to transfer knowledge to others.
The Curse of Knowledge means that, once we know something, we basically lose the memory of not knowing it, and we have difficulty maintaining empathy for people who don’t know it. It’s particularly tricky because it’s easy to spot in others, but really hard to spot in ourselves.
Here are some things we can do to make sure we don’t get Cursed!
Ask Lots of Questions
If you’re teaching someone something, start with questions about what they DO know. And don’t be surprised if they don’t know much at all. “What do you know about Z? Nothing? That’s okay! How about Y? A little? Well, let’s start with X, and go from there.” This does two things: One, it makes sure you’re starting right from where they need, and two, it makes them feel safe letting you know how much they do and do not know.
Patience, Patience, and More Patience
Imagine the largest amount of patience you could need teaching someone something new. Picture the most green beginner you can that you have to teach. Now double how new they are to it, and triple the amount of patience.
When teaching someone a new skill, you want to be prepared to go slower than you ever imagined you would. And if you show the slightest sign of impatience, your learner will see it, and they’ll know that they are in imposition on your time. So no matter how slow they’re going, be encouraging, and let them know that you’re going to help them.
Avoid the Phrase “It’s Easy”
This sounds like a really helpful phrase. After all, someone who’s having doubts about picking up a new skill could benefit from someone putting their mind at ease. But let me give you a scenario. Say you’re learning something, and your trainer shows you and says, “It’s easy!” And then say you still don’t get it after several tries. How is that likely to make you feel? Someone just told you how easy it was, and you’re not getting it. Wow, you must be REALLY bad at it, then!
The phrase “It’s easy” seems helpful, but it can backfire spectacularly if your learner is struggling. Instead, consider saying, “We’re gonna get you there.” This not only helps them relax but gives them the promise that you’re going to make sure they get it.
Like any mental hurdle, the first and best treatment for The Curse of Knowledge is awareness. Now that you’ve read about it, you’ll be better equipped to know if it’s happening to you.