.

The curse falls on the professionals. Those who "ate their teeth" in their field and forgot what their world looked like before they reached the current level of knowledge and skills. The curse of knowledge, because we are talking about it, is a cognitive disorder that causes us to assume that our recipients are at the same level of advancement as we are. And they certainly understand us.

.

The curse of knowledge hinders communication and mutual understanding and lowers the self-esteem and creativity of its victim. The conversation between an advanced person with a beginner or from outside the industry resembles a conversation in different languages. Sometimes I tell my mother-in-law about my work and instinctively use words such as campaign automation, CRM, lead, newsletter, and SEO ... She listens politely, and nods, but after a while, I realize that from my few minutes' speech she understood that I was working on a computer and doing "something " online.

.

In the horticulture industry, it is just as easy to make the same mistakes, discourage inexperienced gardeners and make them go where someone will explain everything step by step in understandable language. Submitting to a curse has consequences such as:

• Losing customers who are not convinced by our way of communicating and advertising products or plants, because instead of talking about a "flowering plant for a shaded balcony" we are talking about begonia, impatiens, or hydrangeas. For someone who is unfamiliar with plants, such terms in a search engine (or in a direct conversation) will not help much.

• Incorrect valuation of our services or products, because “everyone can do it”. For a gardener, setting up an irrigation system computer is everyday life, and a freshly baked garden owner barely knows how to turn on the water, let alone control it wisely.

• Limited creativity and offer, because "everything is already here".

The ox forgot how the calf was, and ... it's not easy to break free from the curse, and remember that we sometimes talk to non-specialists. However, it is worth making an effort to limit its negative impact on our life and business and, for example, write more understandable newsletters or blog articles.

.

Above all, let's avoid industry jargon. If we already use professional vocabulary, let's add an explanation. (I stop writing here because ... as a victim of a curse, I am looking for an example that I do not consider banal;)).

For example, we offer the client a coated fertilizer for flowers. But what does this mean for the customer? The explanation that coating affects the time the plant is fed, that it is important for the plant and convenient for the client, changes the perspective and builds understanding.

Instead of praising the plant for its blooms on this year's shoots, let's explain how it affects the care and joy of having such a specimen.

Saying “it's a heather plant” doesn't mean anything to the customer. Let's add what substrate it requires and what plants we can plant it with.

.

Before we publish a text, let someone else read it, or set it aside for a day or two. We can see much more with a fresh eye.

In the next episode ... (oh that curse, after all, everything has already been!) will be tasty.

.

Text published in Szkółkarstwo 4/2022