As you get better and better at what you…

As you get better and better at what you do your ability to communicate your understanding or to help others learn that skill often gets worse and worse.

— from Communication & Conflict (Communication/Conflict) · Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Great Things by Adam Grant

In the book

Remember that meaning is made of content and context together — the same words mean different things in different settings. Guard against the great speaker's trap, the curse of knowledge: the better you understand something, the worse you tend to become at explaining it to someone who doesn't, because you forget what it was like not to know. So adjust to your listener's level, and make sure every message carries a clear, single point — a benefit the listener can actually grasp and keep. […] Listen first, and generously. Listen with real curiosity and the willingness to be surprised; be silent enough to actually hear; and remember your attention sets the quality of their thinking. Weigh your words before you spend them. Ask what benefit they will bring; speak gently and greet people warmly; mind how you say it, not only what; and beat the curse of knowledge by meeting your listener where they are. Make honesty easy. Build candid, informal dialogue; say the thing plainly rather than assuming you were understood; ask for "one thing to start, one thing to stop"; and speak up even in the unanimous room. — Communication & Conflict (Communication/Conflict)

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