The surprising link between expertise and poor communication

Surely the people who know the most should be the best at explaining it?

I can report that in my work coaching leaders, scientists, engineers, academics and subject matter experts, I sometimes see the opposite.

It’s counterintuitive, but the more expertise someone has, the harder communication can become for them.

Not because they lack intelligence. Far from it, in fact the reverse.

It’s because expertise changes how we think.

The curse of knowing

Psychologists sometimes refer to this as the curse of knowledge.

Once you know something deeply, it becomes difficult to remember what it was like not to know it.

You’ve spent years immersed in your field. The language feels natural. The concepts seem obvious. The connections appear self-evident.

But your audience hasn’t lived in your world.

What feels like a straightforward explanation to you may sound like a foreign language to everyone else.

I’ve seen brilliant specialists lose a room within thirty seconds - not because their ideas lacked value, but because they assumed too much shared understanding.

Why experts over-explain

There’s another trap.

Experts frequently feel a responsibility to be accurate, which is admirable.

The challenge is that accuracy and clarity aren’t always the same thing.

Faced with a question, many specialists instinctively go granular and add caveats, context, qualifications and supporting evidence. Before long, a simple answer has become a ten-minute tour through every possible exception.

The audience isn’t impressed. They’re lost.

In most organisations, people are not asking, How much do you know? more like Can you help me understand what matters?

Communication is not a download

One of the biggest misconceptions about communication is that it’s about transferring information.

It isn’t.

Communication is about creating understanding.

As an actor, I learned that the audience can only absorb so much at once. You cannot force information into people’s heads. That never works. You have to bring them with you.

The same principle applies in business.

If you’re presenting a technical proposal, discussing a complex strategy or explaining specialist research, your job is not to demonstrate everything you know.

Your job is to help the other person grasp what they need to know.

The hidden fear

Interestingly, poor communication is not always a knowledge problem. It can be an identity problem too.

Many high performers have spent years becoming experts. Their expertise is part of how they see themselves.

So simplifying can feel frustrating, or risky. Uncomfortable terrain.

If I make this too simple, perhaps people will think I don’t understand the complexity.

In reality, the opposite is usually true.

Albert Einstein is often credited with saying: ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.’

Whether he actually said it or not (who knows!) the principle remains valid.

The most impressive communicators are rarely the ones who ‘sound the cleverest’. They’re the ones who make complexity feel accessible.

Three questions to answer before you speak

Before your next meeting, presentation or difficult conversation, ask yourself:

What does this audience already know?

What do they need to understand?

What is the most important thing I want them to remember?

Answer those three questions and your communication will become clearer immediately.

The real measure of expertise

The true test of expertise isn’t how much information you can share. It’s how effectively you can help others understand it.

The best leaders, specialists - and the best communicators - don’t speak to prove how knowledgeable they are.

They speak to share, to make their knowledge useful.

That’s a noble skill to develop.

I work with a small number of leaders and professionals each year, through tailored, one-to-one communication coaching.

I help them develop greater confidence, executive presence and influence, in the moments that matter most. If this resonates, I’d be pleased to offer an initial conversation to see how I can support you.

Get in touch to book a free, half hour discovery call.