What If They’re Only Half-Right?
A few days ago, I wrote about Interpretive Friction.
That’s what happens when people don’t understand your work.
They get confused.
They need an explanation.
If someone else is referring you and you’re not even there to explain, that’s worse.
As frustrating as that can be, there’s another problem that’s often harder to recognize.
Interpretive Compression
Imagine introducing yourself.
You explain your work.
The other person nods.
Then comes the response:
“So, you’re a coach.”
“You’re a consultant.”
“You’re a speaker.”
Even a more specific description can land you in a box:
“So, you teach meditation.”
They may not be wrong.
That’s the problem.
They’re half-right.
They understand just enough to stop looking.
That’s what makes Interpretive Compression so sneaky.
The category may be accurate.
It’s also incomplete.
The problem isn’t that people misunderstand you.
The problem is that they don’t really see you.
The Cost of Premature Understanding
With Friction, people don’t move because they’re confused.
With Compression, people don’t move because they’re certain.
They think they’ve seen this before.
They think they know what you do.
They think they know what makes you valuable.
So now you’re in a box.
And boxes can get crowded.
Lawyers.
Authors.
Financial planners.
Coaches.
Consultants.
Speakers.
Meditation teachers.
Branding people.
Whatever label is on the box, you’re suddenly being compared to everyone else inside it.
The Most Important Part
One of the most common things I hear from interesting people is:
“That’s not really what I do.”
Not because the label is inaccurate.
Because it leaves out the most important part.
The part that makes them different.
The part that gives the work its meaning.
The part they wish people understood.
A First Contact Problem
You may not have a clarity problem.
You may have a category problem.
People aren’t struggling to understand your work.
They’ve decided they already do.
That’s Interpretive Compression.
And it’s one of the three reasons people aren’t responding to your work the way you’d like.
Like Interpretive Friction, it is a First Contact Problem.
Your audience misinterprets what you are before you ever meet them.
By the time you get in the room, if you get in the room, you’re already working your way back from a misperception.
We’ll get to the third and most interesting one on Friday.
Until then:
One Question
What box do people put you in that feels too small?