The Participation Blog

Not Knowing Everything is Actually More Than OK

Similar to the benefit of expressing some humility is the benefit of not sounding like you know it all. When experts are dealing with concerned, anxious people, it often feels like the more answers the experts can produce, the more confident and convinced those nervous people will be. But the fact is it just doesn’t work quite like that. Most of the time, you’re far better off admitting to things that you have yet to learn and confirm than you are to grope for answers that you actually don’t quite have. Telling people ‘what you know, what you don’t know and what you’re working to find out’ is often much more believable, real and credible. Read more