Last week, I worked with a founder to prepare her for a panel.
I use the same process with about 90% of the executives I coach:
First, I listen to understand what they want.
Then, I assess what they need.
Finally, I build a tailored plan, and we practice until I know they’re prepared.
The details change, but one lesson comes up with almost every client: simplify your message.
It’s a skill I learned writing profiles in network news, and it’s useful far beyond a panel.
In a job interview, it helps you explain why you’re a good fit. At work, it helps you turn an idea into something people can act on. At home, it helps others understand what you want.
The challenge is that when you know a subject—or care about it deeply—everything can feel relevant!
But the person listening needs a point they can understand, remember, and respond to.
This week, we’re looking at how to simplify what you say.
We’ll cover:
Curse of Knowledge
Once we know something, it’s hard to remember what it was like before we understood it.
We forget that the person listening might need a starting point!
It’s called the “curse of knowledge.”
But when we explain an idea, a few other things can happen, too:
We want to prove our competence → We use big words and complicated concepts.
We fear being misunderstood → We add exceptions and explanations.
We don’t know what matters most → We share everything, often too quickly.
Have something important to say? Let’s make sure it lands.
