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- The Expert's Curse
Tappers and Listeners
In a 1990 Stanford study, researchers paired people into two roles: Tappers and Listeners.
The Tappers were asked to pick a well-known song like “Happy Birthday” or “The Star-Spangled Banner” and tap the rhythm on a table. The Listeners had to guess the song.
The Tappers believed their listeners would get it right about 50% of the time.
They were wrong.
Only 2.5% of the songs were correctly guessed. Just 1 in 40.
Why?
Because once you know the song, you hear it in your head. Every tap is filled with meaning and melody, for you. But the listener only hears disconnected thumps. They’re missing the context, the melody, the tune.
You’ve probably never heard a better metaphor for what’s holding back your ability to connect with potential customers (or employees, investors, etc.).
When you’re an expert you’ve lived, breathed, and built something for years. You forget what it’s like to not know. You assume your audience, your customers, your followers hear the same music you do.
They don’t.
You’re tapping. They’re confused.
And unless you fix that disconnect, you’ll keep wondering why your messaging falls flat, your product isn’t landing, and your marketing isn’t converting.
This issue is about escaping that trap.
Let’s decode the Expert’s Curse and learn how to make your audience finally hear the song.
The Expert’s Curse
The Expert’s Curse is the tendency to overestimate the level of basic understanding others possess about your field of expertise.
It’s not arrogance. It’s compression.
As you gain expertise, your brain starts to collapse years of learning into assumptions and instincts. You operate on what feels like “common sense,” but it’s really hidden complexity.
It shows up when:
Your messaging to customers falls flat
You skip context your audience needs in order to care
You assume terms, acronyms, or frameworks are obvious
You create for your peers instead of your customers
Your audience doesn’t “get it”
When you’re unaware of this phenomenon, your communication starts to sound like a bunch of taps. Logical to you, incomprehensible to others.
The message misses. The opportunity slips. The impact vanishes.
When this happens, both sides lose.
What You Are Both Missing
When the Expert’s Curse creeps in, it doesn’t just muddle the message.
It quietly robs value from both the expert and the audience.
What they miss:
Clarity. Without proper framing, your audience doesn’t understand what you do or why it matters to them.
Relevance. If they don’t see themselves in your message, they assume it’s not for them.
Confidence. Confusion makes people hesitate. A potential customer who feels lost won’t convert.
What you miss:
Trust. When people don’t get it, they don’t believe you can help them.
Sales. The best offer in the world fails if it’s wrapped in complexity.
Momentum. You’re constantly refining tactics that aren’t working. Not because the product is wrong, but because the message never landed.
It’s like throwing seeds on concrete and wondering why nothing grows.
The problem isn’t the seed.
It’s the soil.
Escape The Curse: Reframe & Simplify
The antidote to the Expert’s Curse isn’t dumbing things down.
If you want your message to land, your offer to resonate, and your work to create real change, you need to reframe and simplify how you communicate.
Adopt the Beginner’s Mind
Talk to your target audience.
Don’t just “think like them”, listen to them. Watch how they describe their problems. Pay attention to the metaphors they use, the questions they ask, and the assumptions they make.
You’ll quickly realize:
They’re not asking what you think they are.
And they’re not stuck where you think they are.
Let go of what you want to teach. Start with what they’re trying to understand.
Create a Knowledge Ladder
Imagine your audience’s understanding as a ladder from 0 to 10.
You’re standing on rung 10. They might be on 2.
Your job isn’t to yank them up but to build one clear step at a time.
Explain your terms. Use analogies. Paint vivid before/after pictures.
The gap isn’t a flaw in your audience.
It’s a signal that your communication needs scaffolding to get them to the next rung.
Test for Resonance, Not Accuracy
You’re not writing an academic paper.
You’re trying to move people.
Resonance means your message clicks. It creates an emotional “aha,” even if it’s not technically perfect. Don’t let nuance water down the point. Don’t caveat everything to death.
If it lands, it works.
And you can always add precision later after they care.
Use Emotional Insight, Not Just Technical Precision
Facts inform.
But feelings move.
Most decisions, especially buying ones, aren’t made in a spreadsheet. They’re made in the gut.
So don’t just talk about features or mechanics.
Talk about relief from problems. Confidence. Progress. Control. Time. Freedom.
That’s what people are really buying.
Use the Clarity Test
Take your message and give it to a 15-year-old.
Or your least technical friend. Or your mom.
If they don’t understand it or worse, don’t care, you’ve still got work to do.
Your ideas should feel inviting, not intimidating.
Clear, not clever.
Simple, not simplistic.
Write at an Eighth Grade Reading Level
This isn’t about underestimating your audience.
It’s about creating speed, clarity, and ease.
Then simplify:
Shorten sentences
Cut jargon
Use active voice
Speak how people speak
If it reads like a textbook, it won’t convert like a story.
The Next Step
I didn’t write this because I’ve mastered it.
I wrote it because I kept catching myself doing it.
Over-explaining. Skipping steps. Using language that made sense to me but lost everyone else.
Even now, I still slip into the Expert’s Curse. The only difference is I notice it faster and correct it sooner.
You don’t need to prove how much you know.
You need to help people believe you can help them.
The more you simplify, the more your value becomes obvious.
The more you meet people where they are, the more they follow you to where you’re going.
Clarity isn’t the opposite of expertise.
It’s the evidence of it.
So if your message isn’t landing:
Don’t double down on complexity.
Double down on connection and clarity.
Your knowledge is powerful but only if others get to hear the song in your head.
My goal with The Leap is to provide you each Saturday with the knowledge, tools and lessons learned to help you get started and keep going toward building your future.
Whether you are making the leap to startups, solo-entrepreneurship, freelancing, side hustles or other creative ventures, the tools and strategies to succeed in each are similar.