A life lesson that has guided me is: “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”
I’ve struggled to confirm if the source is Confucius, a CEO or a B2B salesman.
I first heard a warped version of this phrase in the first installment of the Now You See Me franchise: “Always be the smartest person in the room.”
I was 16 years old and while I didn’t understand what it meant, I knew that was what I wanted.
In my first year of university I learnt about the Dunning Kruger effect, a cognitive bias where individuals with low knowledge of a subject area tend to overestimate their competence. Conversely, individuals with expert experience in a subject field are more likely underestimate their confidence – they are aware of what they don’t know.
Learning this changed everything for me. I realised that I should never aim to be the smartest person in the room. I should find that person and learn from them.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
MISTAKES ARE ACCELERATED LEARNING
Another notable lesson emerged a few years ago in a hybrid seminar. I can’t remember its purpose, occupants or vaguely what it was about, but I do remember this quote verbatim: “Mistakes are accelerated learning.”
Through university and my professional career, I have often reflected on how grateful I am to not be the smartest person in the room. Rather than being a point of insecurity, I try to enter the room with a willingness to learn, connect and improve. With this perspective, the room is no longer an arena for competition but an opportunity for growth.
The same perspective shift applies to mistakes. As James Joyce wrote:
“A man of genius makes no mistakes.
His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.”
Image: Peak Outsourcing
APPROACH CHALLENGES WITH CURIOSITY
The people who have supported my career development reinforced that growth rarely emerges from your comfort zone. Rather, meaningful growth comes from embracing what you don’t know and approaching challenges with curiosity and excitement, rather than hesitation.
For this blog, I’ve curated some of my favourite lessons and discoveries, taught to me by mentors, peers and colleagues.
Image Source: CURIOSITY
LESSONS
My enduring communications lesson is that listening first is always the best approach. By listening first, you allow yourself to empathise with whoever you are communicating with. It also allows you to think deeply about whatever they are trying to communicate and shows that you value their words above yours. By doing so you put yourself in both a position of control, but also equal footing; highlighting that they are a priority to you.
– contentgroup’s AI Specialist
Read, read, read. Write, write, write.
– David Pembroke roughly two years ago when I asked him for advice on how to improve my writing.
The show must go on – the audience is unaware if things go awry.
– A mentor in regard to the best piece of advice she ever received.
Comms is not simply an email or a post or a message, it is how it is written and in what platform it is communicated that has incredible power on the impact it makes. If you get that wrong, then your reach and impact is reduced.
– A colleague and current mentor
My lesson is to ask a lot of questions before you start. Make sure you’re completely clear on the brief. Don’t get to the end of a project only to realise that expectations don’t align.
– contentgroup’s Creative Director
Image: PxHere
Follow the 4 principles of Co-operative Communication (sometimes known as Grice’s Four Maxims). These are principles that we tend to naturally follow in spoken communication, so it’s important to match this in our written communication.
These are:
- Quantity – say the right amount (too little and you’re vague, too much and you’re oversharing or overwhelming)
- Quality – be truthful (what you’re saying is correct and evidence-based)
- Relation – stay relevant to the topic at hand (only bring up details related to your main thrust of communication)
- Manner – how you communicate matters (appropriate tone of voice, clear writing, avoid ambiguity)
– contentgroup’s Graphic Designer
When making content, ask yourself these three questions:
- What do you want the audience to learn?
- What do you want the audience to feel?
- What do you want the audience to do next?
– contentgroup’s Multimedia Director
Know your audience and adapt your content to suit them. Understand that your audience is evolving and changing – what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.
– My friend who does social media for government
One internal communications lesson that has stayed with me is that employees should never hear important news about their organisation from the media or another external source first. Communicate early and honestly, even when you don’t have all the answers yet.
– contentgroup’s Communications Specialist
Image Source: Plann
