There's nothing worse than realizing that we're being treated like we're dumb. Nobody loves to feel like the silly guy and we less like to be reminded of so. One of the best pieces of advice Dr. Eduardo Lowenberg gave me once was: respect whoever listens to you and never make them feel like a fool. As with the remarks of the wise, their recommendation is broad-ranging. In other words, it applies to the business world. It is something like: you must make it easy for the consumer who prefers us to go for our proposal, explain everything but does not treat him as if he were a fool.

The worst mistake we can make is to confuse our customers. Dr. Lowenberg concluded the lesson with the following sentence: "Respect your audience and assume they have the brainpower of seven-year-olds." My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe he had said that. All of a sudden my heart crashed. But once my soul was returned to my body, the lesson became teaching and one of the most important rules to follow. Regardless of the type of business we have or the professional field in which we work, we must be respectful and express ourselves simply.

First, it is pertinent to clarify that Dr. Lowenberg did not mean that our consumers were stupid or anything like that. For some strange reason, we tend to believe in the little the ability of children who often show more signs of intelligence than those who believe themselves gifted. I refer to those instructions that indicate that even a little one can assemble a certain device and we end up with a shower of parts. Yet, a kid could have done it. Certainly, our clients are intelligent and exercise their right to choose as is, such as the privilege it represents. What Eduardo Lowenberg was referring to is the way we should address our consumers to ignite their interest and retain it.

So, the important thing is to understand how we should capture their attention. We cannot expect users to devote all their attention and intellectual capacity to our cheerful and well-ventured business proposal. That does not happen and less in a digitized world in which we have so many options at our fingertips. It is the other way around, each possible interested party has at their disposal multiple alternatives with which we have to compete so that they turn to see us, then so that they stay looking, to illuminate the spark of interest and achieve their preference. It is an arduous process and we have little time to carry it out successfully. Therefore, we must be clear. Simplicity is always the best way.

Unfortunately, many great ideas and great projects are lost in the alleys of oblivion because we did not know how to explain them. When we have to strive for our consumers to understand the confusing parts, something is wrong. When people ask questions, there is a lack of work to be done. When we showed them the requested information with sufficiency and they told us that it was not found, or that it was not enough, we know that we must fill in that blank. That is, if our users look at us with a question mark face, we did not know how to explain ourselves clearly. Perhaps, we were very far-fetched, we gave too many turns to the matter, and we went along the banks instead of going straight to the point.

The problem we have is that many entrepreneurs and executives are content to raise their shoulders and believe that the customer is the one who is wrong. That is not the case. Usually, the fault is on our court and we have to take charge to correct it. Where to start? Of course, you have to define the project or product in such a way that it can be understood by a young child. That is, we have to collect our capacity for synthesis to simplify the complex. Nothing should be taken for granted. You must be cautious.

Beware: we can't say something just once and expect our buyers to remember it. You have to repeat the critical information several times so that they are not lost. But, we have to respect, which means we can't be condescending. The moment a consumer feels treated as if they are a fool, they run away. Synthesis and simplicity aren’t about engulfing the voice and speaking with diminutives.

The main thing is not to lose sight of the goal we are pursuing. To be clear and not fall into the mistake I’m trying to prevent, I clarify that what we are pursuing is consumer preference. There are some tips we could put into practice:

  1. Limit the amount of information, especially if you are launching a new product or it is an innovative project. Too much data can be difficult to assimilate. Slowly I'm in a hurry, the saying goes. We forget the advantages it can give us. We get lost in a maze and instead of solving the riddle, we look for something simple. It is preferable to walk with firm steps.

  2. Take care of your consumer. Too much data is hard to follow, connect, and remember. Some elements will resemble each other or may be confusing in different ways and cause bewilderment. You don't want your consumers to go into the competition drowned out by information that didn't allow them to see a competitive advantage.

  3. It must be that each of the aspects that will be revealed does not count. Rome was not built in a day. Therefore, we should not add new attributes at once, as if they were a swarm. It is better to do it as if it were a dance of veils, revealing each attribute at once; once the number one has been assimilated we will continue with the number two. When you think you need a new one, ask yourself which of the revealable elements should be next.

  4. Limit the number of attributes. Too many features cause chaos. In some cases, we can merge several features into one. In Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bingley has two sisters and a brother-in-law, but in Joe Wright's 2005 film, those three characters combine into one sister, Caroline Bingley, as the film doesn't have enough screen time to delve into each of them.

In short, I’m not saying that our priority should be to create an easy observation. There is also a target audience for difficult topics and complex perspectives. If we are choosing a cryptic path, we must ask ourselves if our competitive advantage has enough substance to make it worth the effort for our audience. I mean we need to respect our consumers and be clear so they know what they can get. We must ease their way and let them know that we are sure they are intelligent.