{
  "title": "Technical presentations: the trap of assumed shared knowledge",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prise-de-parole-technique-le-piege-du-savoir-partage-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2026-03-03",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "An accurate presentation can still be difficult to understand. Research suggests examining what the speaker assumes the audience knows, rather than merely asking for a simpler message.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Public Speaking & Impact",
  "place": {
    "name": "Neuchâtel",
    "region": "Neuchâtel",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "What the literature establishes",
      "point": "Colin Camerer, George Loewenstein and Martin Weber (1989, Journal of Political Economy) show experimentally that better-informed people struggle to disregard their information when predicting the judgements of less-informed people."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The mechanism: attributing one's own knowledge to the audience",
      "point": "Raymond S."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The premature conclusion",
      "point": "One might conclude that technical terms should be removed and messages systematically simplified."
    },
    {
      "heading": "What the evidence and current practice cannot establish",
      "point": "An economic experiment and a review of how people estimate others' knowledge are not enough to validate a presentation method for an industrial committee."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical check in Neuchâtel",
      "point": "Within SHR — Swiss Human Resources' “Public Speaking & impact” programme, an exercise could start with a recommendation concerning a manufacturing tolerance, component qualification or investment in inspection equipment in Neuchâtel's microtechnology, watchmaking and precision microelectronics sectors."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Weber",
      "year": "1989",
      "source": "Journal of Political Economy"
    },
    {
      "authors": "Nickerson",
      "year": "1999",
      "source": "Psychological Bulletin"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 429,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-editorial-2026-03-03-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prise-de-parole-technique-le-piege-du-savoir-partage",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prise-de-parole-technique-le-piege-du-savoir-partage-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prise-de-parole-technique-le-piege-du-savoir-partage-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/prise-de-parole-technique-le-piege-du-savoir-partage-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation/public-speaking/neuchatel",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/neuchatel",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}