Too clever to talk? The curse of knowledge and Consumer Duty

Looking at how to break ‘the curse of knowledge’

clock • 2 min read

You will have heard that, to communicate effectively, you need to ‘put yourself in your customers’ shoes’, Robin Harries writes. Do that, their thinking goes, and you’ll give them the right information, at the right time, for them to make good decisions.

This is advice that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) repeats in the new Consumer Duty regulations. Sounds like a good plan whether you are contract-based or trust-based, or indeed in any other business. But it's easier said than done. In fact, anyone hoping to get to grips with consumer duty or similar regulations first needs to acknowledge a big cognitive bias that affects every one of us. Ignore it, and nothing about your communications is likely to change for the better.  The curse of knowledge When you want to understand a new subject, your first instinct is to ask an e...

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