(As published in Inside Indiana Business 3/5/26)
Education and self-improvement generally play critical roles in personal success. The more we learn, the greater the opportunities available to us, and the better our ability to take advantage of those opportunities. But is it possible to be too smart for our own good?
I’m convinced that for many professionals and business leaders, the answer to that question is a solid yes. Knowing too much can get in the way of our success – or at least a key part of it. Specifically, what we know can interfere with our ability to communicate that knowledge to people who would benefit from it.
For example, I’ve noticed that the language used by classroom teachers when talking to parents often changes as the teachers add more graduate-level classes to their CVs. When sitting across from parents in conferences, they’ll describe a student’s progress by saying things like, “Billy scored at the 82nd percentile on a norm-referenced summative assessment.” Unless the parents are also educators, they have no idea what that means or how to react. Should they take Billy out for ice cream, or leave town under the cover of darkness? (Ice cream. Billy scored among the top fifth of kids his age on a test measuring how well he understood what he’s been taught.)
During professional development, teachers learn to throw around terms like scaffolding, proximal development, higher-order thinking, phonemic awareness, taxonomies, and rubrics (which I’m pretty sure the average Hoosier thinks are sandwiches made with corned beef and sauerkraut). What you and I have known as “tests” and “quizzes” since childhood, they refer to as “assessments.” Even what you and I call “teaching” gets referred to as “pedagogy.”
That’s okay when they’re in a room with their colleagues, but far too often, they start using those terms with people who lack the benefit of their advanced coursework.
We depend upon smart professionals like accountants, attorneys, engineers, IT wizards, and physicians to help us get through work and life, but far too often, we can’t understand what they believe we should know. They become puzzled and frustrated, too, because they clearly explain what we need to do, yet we fail to follow their advice. And, because we fear we’ll appear to be stupid, we don’t ask them for clarification.
Professionals often push back at suggestions that they communicate at the level of those they serve, bristling at the idea of having to “dumb down” their knowledge. But that’s exactly what any type of educational content – which includes things like client newsletters and blog posts – is all about. You’re sharing what you know to help your intended audience make better decisions. I was once brought in to help a tax accountant whose messages to clients echoed the complexity and legalese of the Internal Revenue Code. They had great advice to deliver – but most of their clients didn’t understand a word, so they were unable to take advantage of the CPA’s brilliance.
Communicating at the audience’s level of knowledge and expertise isn’t “dumbing down.” It’s simply what effective educators at all levels do. A third-grade teacher may have studied theoretical math in college, but when the task at hand is explaining basic multiplication to their students, they wouldn’t cite those theories. The whole point of their job is helping those students grasp what they need to know, so they present the material at the students’ level. Professionals and business leaders would be wise to remember their example.
Back when automakers began to use molded rubber gaskets in engines, I was tasked with helping a gasket manufacturer explain the advantages of the technology to mechanics – notably the “memory” inherent in the rubber that kept gaskets firmly positioned to eliminate leaks. Did I explain it by exploring the molecular structure of the rubber or the physics behind compression? Nope, I compared it to a common object everyone knows: rubber bands, which constantly try to return to their original shape and size.
It’s not just a matter of making sure people understand what you say – there’s also human nature to consider. When we encounter confusing or complex language, we rarely make the effort to learn what it means. Instead, we assume we’re just not bright enough to grasp it, so we shut down. I suspect you had at least one teacher or college instructor whose words and approach absolutely baffled you. So your brain started focusing on something else – maybe which party you’d attend Friday evening or that attractive classmate across the room.
When your audience doesn’t understand what you’re saying, they aren’t going to take the time to learn more. They’ll just ignore what you’ve written and move on to something else they can comprehend. Not sure how to deliver your expertise more effectively? Teaming up with the right writer might be the solution.