Communicate Like a 6th Grader
This week, I was a chaperone for 6th grade camp with my youngest son. We spent a lot of time outdoors, learned survival skills, and did a load of activities. Sleeping accommodations and food? Not so great, but that’s a different topic. Something that really caught my attention over those few days was how the camp counselors communicated with the kids. They were really able to get the kids to listen, to stay seated when asked, to quiet down at a moments notice, and get the kids to understand exactly what they needed to do. It worked - for three days straight.
It got me thinking—how often do we, as leaders and salespeople, communicate this clearly with our teams or clients? Are we able to get people to really stop, pay attention, and most importantly, understand what we’re saying? Do they leave the interactions with us clearly grasping what actions to take?
In my experience, the answer is typically no. Far too often, I see people talking or writing in ways that feel like they’re just getting thoughts out of their head or, even worse, just trying to sound smart or authoritative. This is where something called the “curse of knowledge” comes into play. It’s a cognitive bias where, when we deeply understand something, we forget that others may not have the same fundamental understanding as we do. We may be correct, but nobody else understands what we’re saying.
If you’re ever in a meeting where you’re met with blank stares, or notice a client nodding along but are sensing they don’t fully understand, the curse of knowledge might be at work. Or maybe you’ve sent what you thought was a perfectly written email, only to receive… no response. It may not be that your message wasn’t important or helpful. It’s more likely because it wasn’t communicated in a way that could be easily understood and acted on.
Here’s a surprising fact: The average reading level of a U.S. adult is around 7th to 8th grade. That means many of us are communicating in ways that often go over our audience’s head. Our well intentioned, deeply intelligent and insightful ideas, just aren’t landing.
Media companies understand this well. Their business depends on capturing and holding the attention of their readers and viewers, so they make sure their content is easy to digest. Take a look at the reading levels for some of the top news outlets:
USA Today: 5th grade
The New York Times: 10th grade
The Washington Post: 7th-8th grade
CNN: 8th grade
FOX News: 7th grade
These companies keep things simple because they know it works. When a message is clear and easy to understand, it sticks. The same applies to our roles as salespeople, leaders, and business owners. Our goal isn’t to just pour out our thoughts—it’s to get whomever we’re communicating with to engage, to understand, and to take action.
So how can we ensure we’re communicating in a way that resonates? Here’s a practical tip: use the Flesch-Kincaid readability test. It’s a tool that measures how easy or difficult a piece of text is to read and assigns it a grade level. You can check the readability statistics of your emails, proposals, or presentations within Microsoft Office, or with third party web tools. If your message is at a level that’s too high, it might be time to simplify. Aim for something in the 6th to 8th grade range for maximum clarity.
At the end of the day, communication isn’t about sharing words - it’s about connecting. It’s to ensure people not only hear what you’re saying, but understand what you’re saying, and the actions they should take as a result. So before your next client meeting, team presentation, or sales email, ask yourself… Would a group of 6th graders understand this?