Your Messaging’s Biggest Issue – Penthouse Problems vs. Groundfloor Feelings
Picture it with me for a second.
You’re standing on the top floor of a skyscraper. Yep, it’s the penthouse – you’ve officially made it. That skyscraper? It’s your industry. And being at the top floor means that you are, in fact, an actual expert at what you do. (I knew it all along).
Let’s say you’re a social media manager. The people you want to work with – the ones you desperately want to reach and solve problems for – are all the way down on the ground floor of that skyscraper. When you look down off the balcony, you can see them – ant-sized – and you can tell they’re shouting up at you.
And you’re shouting, too.
You both desperately want to reach each other, but that distance is just too big for your shouting to reach each other.
You so badly want to level with them – talk directly to them. But your view and their view are completely different.
It seems like no matter what you do, you both just keep shouting at each other – and neither of you ever hears the other.
All of that right there? That’s what it’s like when your messaging doesn’t click with your people.
Because it’s true, you are an expert in your field – you’re standing at the top of the world where you can see it all, and everything makes sense. But your people who need you aren’t experts – they’re craning their necks, looking up, hoping for you to throw down a lifeline or shout loud enough to make a difference for them.
So…how do you get on their level?
How do you strategize what you say about your offers, services, launches, and stuff so that it clicks with them on their level?
That’s exactly what this blog is all about.
LIL KEY TAKEAWAYS: THIS BLOG AT A GLANCE
Penthouse Problems vs. Groundfloor Feelings: You’re an expert. Your audience isn’t. If your message is floating around in “optimization” land, they’re not gonna get it.
The Curse of Knowledge: You're so good at what you do that it's hard to talk like a beginner. It’s not your fault—but it is your responsibility to fix it.Concrete > Concepts: Your brain—and your audience’s—connects with images, not abstractions. Say less “visibility boost” and more “stop posting into the void.”
The 5 Whys: Dig down from surface-level “problems” to root-level feelings with this dead-simple method.
Lead with Feelings, Not Features: Your offer’s bells and whistles don’t matter until people believe it can help.
The Me-Me-Me POV: People only care about what directly applies to them. Connect the dots or lose their attention.
The Get-Who-Need-To-By Hack: When in doubt? Strip it back. This fill-in-the-blanks framework makes messaging simple and effective.
Your Offer Messaging’s Biggest Issue – Penthouse Problems vs. Groundfloor Feelings
What Do I Mean by Penthouse Problems vs Groundfloor Feelings?
You’re smart. You know that the skyscraper is a metaphor, and you know that the distance I’m describing between you and your people is your messaging issues.
Penthouse Problems are the high-level, abstract things you think and talk about all day – efficiency, visibility, scalability, optimization. It’s the buzzword, top-of-your-field, big-picture stuff that makes perfect sense to you.
Groundfloor Feelings are what your audience is actually experiencing, what they care about, and what they’re dealing with firsthand. Burnout, confusion, frustration, late nights, wasted money, embarrassment, fear of falling behind – you name it, they’ve felt it.
Ultimately, they’re not Googling “conversion optimization strategy”
They’re typing out something more, “Why isn’t my website getting any inquiries?”
You see the gap, right? That’s the distance where your screams fall on the wind and traffic noise.
If your offer messaging is stuck on the penthouse level with you – using polished language, expert terminology, or vague concepts – the only person it’s going to connect with is you. And that’s nice…except hopefully you’re not your dream customer.
Your people aren’t up there with you yet. That’s because they don’t know what they don’t know.
And here’s the thing – they don’t want a ladder. They don’t want to climb up to your level and become an expert like you. Who has the time for that? They have a business to run!
They want to hear, “Hey, I see you. I’ve been where you are. I’ve got a solution for you. Here’s how we fix it.”
Where Our Messaging Goes Wrong: The Curse of Knowledge
That distance between the ground floor and the penthouse has a technical name – The Curse of Knowledge.
Personally, I just like to call this phenomenon The Curse.
You may have the Curse & not know it – this reel can help you diagnose yourself.
It basically means that you’re biased. Because you’re so good at what you do and have so much knowledge, you’ve sort of lost the plot and can’t imagine not knowing what you do. What’s that mean for your people?
You have no idea how to communicate with them in a way that clicks.
You’re operating on one level, they’re operating on another. And that makes it really hard to talk to them in a way they care about, pay attention to, and connect with.
Have you ever taken a 101-level class from a professor who clearly also teaches the 401-level class? Clearly, they know what they’re doing – but they’ve got a lot of knowledge, and it’s impossible to flesh that out in a 101-style lesson (which is exactly what you need, btw).
Getting Past the Shouting Match: Messaging to Your People on Their Level
Unfortunately, The Curse is pretty powerful. It’s not always enough to just say, “OK, I’m talking WAY up here, and my people are waaaaay down here – I’ll fix that.”
Sometimes, The Curse is so impactful, you truly can’t figure out how to repel down to a level that makes sense and clicks with your people.
Need help getting past The Curse? This reel has a few actionable tips (this blog right here does, too)
The good news? It’s doable! You can reverse The Curse in your sales copy and website copy (and anywhere you show up with words). Here are a few ways how you can bypass The Curse and make sure your words (and message) click with your people again.
Concrete Ideas Over Concepts Every Day of the Week
When you started reading this blog, we were talking about a skyscraper. You could place yourself in that metaphorical penthouse. You could almost see your people on the sidewalk way down below, looking up at you. Right?
Obviously, this isn’t about a penthouse. It’s about messaging problems. But “messaging problems” is a concept – a skyscraper is concrete.
Your brain is far more likely to hold onto and click with the concrete image of you standing on top of a skyscraper shouting down at your people than the concept of messaging problems.
The fact of the matter is, our brains aren’t really made for concepts. Sure, we can all obviously process concepts, but something is far more likely to stick with us if we focus on concrete things we can recognize and envision.
From a primal perspective, we didn’t survive by pondering concepts – we survived by recognizing tangible things.
So when someone says, “We help service-based business owners reclaim their time.”
Your brain kinda shrugs. You get it, obviously. But that phrase doesn’t create a mental picture. It’s vague, conceptual, and unanchored.
But if they said, “We help dog groomers stop spending their Sundays scheduling Instagram posts.”
Now your brain’s got something to hold onto. You can picture a dog groomer on her couch, laptop open, dreading the task. It’s concrete, and concreteness is memorable.
All that to say, if your messaging is full of abstract concepts — pull it back. Concepts don’t usually click with people in powerful ways. Sensorsy stuff (sticky brand voice!), stories people can connect with, metaphors everyone gets, and visuals that are relatable all count as concrete messages.
Getting to Root Issues: The 5 Whys Framework
A big issue with not connecting with our people (and a struggle-bus messaging strategy) is that we can no longer connect with their real issues – the root stuff at the core of what they’re dealing with.
You’re high level – you know the “problems” but you’re focused on solutions. And at this point, you’re so separated from the problems, you don’t fully get the emotional toll of them anymore.
Using the 5 Whys Framework can help you cut through the distance and get back to the root problems you’re people are dealing with.
Here’s how it works. You 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.
List the problem you think your people are dealing with: (Penthouse 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: (Groundfloor Feeling)
You see how you can start a top level and work your way down to the root of their issues?
Focus on Their Feelings Instead of Your Features
It’s easy to get caught up in the awesome features and details of your offers. But again, that’s high-level stuff. I’m not saying you shouldn’t give your people the logistics and details – you should.
But if you’re leading with your offer features instead of their feelings OR the transformation they’ll experience, you’re talking at a level they don’t connect with.
Let me make this simple: Don’t focus on features, focus on feelings.
Talk From the Me-Me-Me POV (AKA, What They Care About)
We all view the world through our own lens – our lens. Basically, we all have a pair of glasses on when we walk through the world, and those glasses have “me-me-me” written on the lenses.
Basically, our brains are like nightclub bouncers. Every message that stops at our door is stopped, interrogated, and looked up and down.
Is this useful to me?
Is this going to make my life easier or better?
Does this help me feel something I want to feel or avoid something I don’t?
If it isn’t an immediate yes to those questions, the door of our brain slams shut. That’s how your people are viewing your message when you talk about your offer from the Penthouse. They can’t see how it applies to them – so they don’t pay attention.
Here’s what you can do to layer in that Me-Me-Me POV needed to make them pay attention.
Use “you” language more than “I” or “we” language
Think about where they’re coming from – not where you’re coming from. Approach from there
Don’t make your people guess about how this applies to them – tell them specifically. Connect the dots!
Uncomplicating the Message: The Get-Who-Need-to-By Hack
Sometimes the issue is that we’re overcomplicating the message. We’re trying to get super fancy with it, make all kinds of emotional claims, and hit people so hard that we truly forget the very basics of what we’re trying to say.
If this sounds like you, take a breather and try the Get-Who-Need-To-By Messaging Hack to simplify your messaging and help you start all over.
Here’s how it works. If the pressure to say the perfect thing in a small window is to much, usually you just need to shake things up and simplify.
Strip it back, and try this hack:
GET: (Who’s your audience?)
WHO NEED: (What are they craving or desiring?)
TO: (What specific problem are they looking to solve?)
BY: (What transformation does your offer provide?)
By filling in these blanks, you’ll be able to distill your messaging down to a clear, focused statement that speaks directly to your audience's needs and the unique transformation your offer delivers.
Jumping Safely Repelling from the Penthouse – Meet Your People Where They’re At
If you're ready to stop shouting from the penthouse and finally connect with your people where they actually are, it's time to rework your messaging.
Want help untangling your copy and saying the right things on their level? Good news. I do this for a living. Let’s chat about how we can work 1:1 to shape up what you’re saying so it hits with your people.
More of a DIY kinda cowboy? I got you covered. Take a peek at Mini Messaging Marker – a 12-minute training that helps you figure out what to say to sell your latest and greatest thing.
