Page 25 - CCCA 295084 Magazine_Summer 2019

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no one Knows how Toilets work

Convincing people to follow your ideas means helping them convince themselves. By Chris Graham

i hear you BuT iT’s sTiLL “no” Researchers then asked people to explain, in as much detail
as possible, how a toilet works. Most people did not know very
If you’re reading this, it’s a good bet you’re a conscientious and much. (Take a minute and try it for yourself— and then Google
diligent lawyer. A “counsel” in the best sense of the term. Your the detailed answer.)
advice is thoughtful and well researched. Your ideas are reason- Finally, researchers asked participants to re-rate their under-
able and grounded in relevant experience. You take your work standing of how a toilet works. This time, the average response
seriously and presume colleagues do the same. fell to 2/7.
If that sounds like your character, then I expect it’s also true That difference, from 4.5 to 2, is known as the Illusion of
that you are fummoxed, frustrated and disillusioned when col- Explanatory Depth.
leagues decline to follow your good advice or say “no” to your
good ideas—especially without compelling justifcation. People Think They Know More Than They Do
6 “We can’t do it that way because of…” [Irrelevant]
6 “That’s too much risk for us…” [Without further explanation] The “Illusion,” let’s call it, exists for almost all things about
which you could have knowledge: toilets, zippers, bicycles and
6 “My gut is telling me…” [It hasn’t done any research]
Sound familiar? Let me tell you a story about toilets. even complicated stuff like climate change or tax policy. Re-
searchers have asked the same questions and discovered the
same pattern of response: people always think that they know
The Illusion of Explanatory Depth
more than they do and that their view of the world is right.
Several years ago, researchers started asking the following ques- While you’ve probably never heard of this research, you’ve
tion: “On a scale of 1 to 7, how well do you understand how a defnitely felt its infuriating consequence. People thinking that
toilet works?” The average response was about 4.5/7. they know more than they do is a major reason those people say
So, people don’t know how to build a toilet, but no one is “no” to your good ideas or decline to follow your good advice.
surprised by the fush.

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