Winning an Emmy Taught Me Something Unexpected

Why is it so hard to explain your own business clearly?

Usually, it is not because you do not understand it. It is because you understand it too well.

Years ago, I helped produce a 20-part astronomy series called Astronomy Observations and Theories. The project won an Emmy for instructional programming, which is a category built around one simple idea: can you take something complex and help people understand it?

That part mattered to me because I was not an astronomy expert.

We had real experts involved. Scientists reviewed the scripts. We interviewed people who knew the subject deeply. My job was not to outthink them on astronomy. My job was to help shape the material so someone on the outside could follow it.

That outsider position turned out to be useful.

As I read scripts and worked through edits, I kept asking questions like, “Would this make sense to someone who does not already know what you know?” That beginner’s mind helped make the work clearer.

Marketing has the same problem.

Business owners are experts at what they do. They know the details, the history, the edge cases, the reasons behind every decision. But that expertise can make it hard to explain the business in a simple way to someone hearing about it for the first time.

A mentor of mine, Michael Redman, says it this way: it is hard to read a wine label from inside the bottle.

That is why outside perspective helps. Not because you cannot do the work yourself. Not because you do not know your business. But because someone outside the bottle can often see what needs to be said first.

If you feel too close to your business to explain it clearly, we can help. Book a discovery call with Chollet Marketing & Advertising.