One day I was working with the curator of a major new museum exhibit about geology. The curator was a Ph.D., and this was his first shot at creating his own exhibit. He didn’t want to screw it up, and he wanted his academic peers to be impressed. My job, however, was to create exhibit labels and learning experiences for the public — kids, parents on the run, school groups, families.

I started reading through the curator’s notes, and came upon this gem of information: “The asthenosphere is plastic.”

“So…” I said, “do you mean that the Earth’s crust moves around and changes?”

“Well, yes,” he said. “But we should say it the way I wrote it. That’s the correct language.”

“If we do that,” I told him, “most visitors will walk away thinking that some undefined part of the planet is made out of silly putty.”

This threw him for a loop. “OK, I get it,” he said, “but if you write it your way, my peers will think I’ve dumbed the content down.”

“Will you have dumbed it down?” I asked, “or will you have said exactly the same thing in simpler words?”

“Oh,” he replied. “Yeah. I guess that’s true.”

“If we use ordinary language instead of scientific terms,” I reassured him, “we won’t dumb anything down. Instead, we’ll make geological content understandable–even to our audience, most of whom are ten years old.”

I’ve had this same conversation over and over again with subject matter experts of all sorts. Many people have been taught that simplifying language and “dumbing down” content are the same thing–but they’re not.

In fact, by simplifying language (and possibly introducing new terms along the way), we’re making ideas and information accessible — even to 10-year-olds. Or overworked parents. Or managers in a hurry. Or people with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or any of a range of learning differences.

My advice to subject matter experts and new writers is simple (!). Know your learner. Choose words they know.

Remember: you’ve signed on to help craft a product that reaches and teaches.

If you manage to remind your peers about all your graduate degrees and publications — but leave your learners in the dust — you’re reaching the wrong people!