You Know Too Much: & It’s Hurting How Your Sales Copy
You know how in the movies, when the bad guys determine someone knows too much, they inevitably end up doing something about it?
That’s kind of how it works when you know too much about your own zone of genius – except instead of the mob wacking you, you end up cutting yourself off at the knees when talking about your own offers.
(Listen, I’m trying to get your attention here. Did it work?
Gory mafia plot twists aside, the reality is that as a business owner who’s an expert in their zone, you probably are way too close to your own stuff.
Obviously, being an expert in your industry is a good thing. But it starts to get us into trouble when we let our expertise – the Curse of Knowledge – cloud how we talk about things with our ideal audiences.
The blunt truth: you know too much, and it’s hurting how you talk to your people about your stuff.
(And that’s hurting how you show up, stand out, and sell your stuff to your people).
Everything You Need to Know About the Curse of Knowledge
What is the Curse of Knowledge?
Meet the Curse of Knowledge, the thing that absolutely no one warned you about when you were quickly and enthusiastically becoming an expert in your field.
The Curse of Knowledge just means you know so much that you’re biased about it, and that makes it hard for experts like you to explain something in a way that clicks with your ideal people.
Why? Because you’re operating on a different level of knowledge than the people you’re talking to.
Huge CD scratch to stop you in your tracks here – notice that I said knowledge, not intelligence.
The Curse of Knowledge isn’t the declaration that you’re smarter than everyone in the room. It means you’ve become an expert on this particular thing, so now, it’s really hard to imagine other people not knowing the same information.
You’re operating on one level. Your people are operating on another.
The Curse of Knowledge basically makes it hard to talk about your stuff in a way that clicks with people who have a different level of knowledge about it.
If you want to get technical, the Curse of Knowledge is really Cognitive Bias.
Have you ever had a professor in a 101 course who was (clearly) teaching the 401 courses, too? They were obviously experts in their field, but they couldn’t explain it to you in a way that makes sense?
That’s the Curse of Knowledge.
The Problem with All This Knowledge
It’s great to be good at what we do. But the issue with all this knowledge is that you assume your audience has the same context, understanding, or background as you do.
Plot twist: they don’t.
So maybe you talk in acronyms, industry lingo, and clever little turns of phrase that go completely over your audience’s heads. Maybe you’re talking about the solution to a problem when you can’t really imagine the emotions behind the problem anymore.
You’re not trying to gatekeep, you’re just trying to show how well-versed you are. You want them to know you’re credible!
But what your people need, above all, is clarity. And the Curse of Knowledge clouds that.
I talk about the Curse of Knowledge a lot when we dive into the problems our people are facing and how we talk to them about it. Basically, we struggle talking about our people’s problems because we’re so close to the solutions, we forget how to address the root issues.
Picture it like this: You’re on the top floor of a skyscraper. Your people are on the ground floor. You’re looking way down on them and yelling, but you can’t really see them – just their outlines. They’re craning up at you, but they have no idea what you’re saying – they just hear you shouting.
No one is clicking. That’s because you’re talking about Penthouse Problems and they’re dealing with Groundfloor Feelings.
The reason you made it all the way up to the penthouse is that you care so much about the problems your people are dealing with.
You got super close to every detail of the problem, so you could fix it.
The plot twist? You’re so close to the solution now, you don’t fully understand the feelings associated with the root problems.
That elevator you took to get to the top floor? That’s the Curse of Knowledge – and it’s keeping you from connecting with your people’s groundfloor feelings.
Tappers vs Listeners: A Classic Curse of Knowledge Example
One of my all-time favorite books (not just marketing books, but books in general), Made to Stick, talks about the Curse of Knowledge by sharing an incredible experiment – the tappers vs. listeners test.
In a 1990 psychology experiment, researcher Elizabeth Newton divided people into two groups – tappers and listeners. In one group, she had people tap out the rhythm of familiar songs like “Happy Birthday” on a table. The other group, the listeners, tried to guess the tune they tapped.
The results? Listeners guessed correctly only 2.5% of the time. But tappers expected them to get it right 50% of the time.
Why the disconnect? The tappers could hear the song in their heads while listeners just heard random taps.
That’s the Curse of Knowledge – once you know something, it’s nearly impossible to imagine not knowing it. And when you're writing sales copy, that curse can make your message land like noise instead of music.
Signs You’re Suffering From the Curse of Knowledge
Maybe you don’t feel like you’re suffering from the Curse of Knowledge. Maybe you’re still very connected to your people, their root problems, and the emotions behind everything.
But maybe, just maybe, the Curse of Knowledge is blinding you big time. Here are a few quick ways to diagnose Curse of Knowledge-itis (a new term that’s definitely not real, but I’m coining).
Everything you say is about abstract concepts, so it’s hard for you (and your people) to visualize it.
Your people don’t get it. You’ve explained it over and over – what you do, how you help, what they can expect – and it’s still just not clicking for them,
Your ideal people say things to you like, “Wow! I didn’t know you offered that,” even though you’re sure you’ve talked about “enough.”
Your sales pages, emails, and IG captions talk use industry terms, not real-life words that your people use every day.
You can’t just say what you do, why you do it, and who you do it for – that simply.
Just so you know, you’re not alone in this struggle. A lot of business owners (to be honest, almost all of them) deal with this at some point or another – and then they deal with it again.
It’s not bad, it just means you’re really good at what you do, and you need to get pulled back down to the foundation once in a while.
How to Break the Curse of Knowledge & Write Sales Copy That Connects
Writing sales copy (or words in general) that clicks with our people means getting past our Curse of Knowledge. And if you’re not sure how to do that, these quick tips can get you started.
Tell Your People a Story
Stories can pretty much single-handedly beat the Curse of Knowledge. And that’s because stories simulate experience.
When you tell a story, you’re not just dumping facts or features; you’re creating a mental model your audience can step into.
Instead of trying to explain something abstract or insider-y, you’re showing how it plays out in real life. That lets people feel what you mean instead of trying to decode it.
Stories work because:
They’re concrete, so they help people visualize and remember.
They’re emotional, so they stick better than facts alone.
They allow the listener to fill in the gaps with their own imagination and context, bridging the gap between expert and beginner.
Your stories should simulate and inspire, but they should also reflect the agenda – the outcome you want your audience to move toward.
In other words, don’t just tell any story for the sake of telling it.
Tell one that shows your solution in motion, your values in action, or your audience’s future self winning.
Run Through the 5 Whys
The Curse rears its ugly head at us when we try to talk about our people’s problems. We get what they’re abstractly dealing with from a high level, but we’re so close to our expertise that we can’t quite explain how our solutions work for them.
And that’s because we haven’t gotten down to their root issues.
Remember, it’s kind of like being on that top floor of a skyscraper while our people are on the ground floor. If we really want to get them, we need to get down to their level.
To cut through your own Curse of Knowledge fluff, try one of my fave hacks called the 5 Whys.
It’s a quick thing anyone can do to get down to your people’s root problems – and how to talk about them in a normal-person way.
Name the problem you think you’re dealing with, then you ask why.
Then you do it again. And again. You do this five times.
At that first why, the problem you list might make sense to you. But by the fifth way, you’re down to your people’s root problem – the thing that makes sense to them.
And that’s how you talk to them.
The 5 Whys Framework
List the problem you think your people are dealing with: (Top Floor Problem)
Ask why. Answer that.
Ask why. Answer that
Ask why. Answer that
Ask why. Answer that
Ask why. Answer that.
Now, list the problem your people are actually dealing with: (Root Problem)
Talk about What They Feel, Not About What You Do
Instead of focusing on you and your solutions, focus on them and what they’re feeling.
For example, instead of:
“I build custom CRM automations for scaling service providers.
You could reframe it with something like:
“You’re drowning in follow-ups. I build systems that keep your clients warm, even when you’re off the clock.”
People are generally pretty self-interested (it’s part of our design!), so if we’re focusing too much on our end of things and we get technical about how we can help, we miss out on the opportunity to launch into what they’re feeling and how it applies to them.
This is something I like to call the ME ME ME POV – if we can reframe what we’re saying about our thing to explain clearly how it applies to them, their feelings, and their experience, we’re more likely to connect with them. And as a bonus, we’re less likely to be blocked by The Curse.
Eliminate All The Jargon, Replace with Real-World Words
Sometimes, we slip into this habit of trying to sound smart and credible. That’s not a bad thing – it’s good to know a lot about what we’re talking about. But it doesn’t help us explain why we’re a good fit for our clients.
Think about it – when you read a bunch of jargon you don’t know or understand, how likely are you to keep reading? How likely are you to see if it makes sense for you? How likely are you to spend precious moments of your day trying to decode it all?
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty unlikely to do that.
Ditch jargon. Forget industry-related words. Opt for metaphors. Plain English. The words that your people would use – not the words industry pros would use.
For example: “End-to-end integrated systems that optimize your workflows.”
Should really be something like: “All your systems tals to each other so nothing falls through the cracks.”
Run The Jargon Test:
Read your words out loud to someone who knows nothing about what you’re talking about. Can they tell you what it’s about after they’ve heard it? If it sounds like word salad, you need to go back to the drawing board and un-curse yourself.
Do this until your language is clear, simple, and understandable.
Zoom Way, Way Out
And finally, pretend for a second you just met your dream client on an elevator – you’ve got 15 seconds to tell them about the thing you’re talking about. What do you say? How do you make it clear and easy to get?
That’s the version of things you should be working with.
(This is lowkey one of my favorite messaging hacks – check out a few more in this blog.)
Need Help Uncursing Your Copy? That’s What Pro Copywriters Like Me Are For
The Curse of Knowledge can be a real doozy. The good news? This is why I do what I do. My main skill is taking all that genius you’ve got bottled up in your head and turning it into words that connect, convert, and feel like you.
I help you make words clear and compelling so your dream people come running.
(^ See, I could have said I’m a full-service copywriter who helps you write high-converting copy with refined messaging strategies that reach your target audiences. But…that would have meant the Curse of Knowledge got me.
Want to chat about how we can work together? Send me a quick message through my inquiry form or peep the Boundless Copy Shop for DIY and done-WITH-you copywriting courses, tutorials, trainings, templates, and more.
