115 Rosetta Stone
A strategy for communicating novel information using elements of common understanding.
• The Rosetta Stone is an Egyptian artifact inscribed with one message in three scripts. Modern knowledge of one of the scripts enabled scholars to translate the other two unknown scripts.
• Applying the Rosetta Stone principle involves embedding elements of common understanding in messages, called keys, to act as bridging elements from the known to the unknown.
• Make it clear that keys are keys, to be interpreted first and used as a point of reference.
• Deliver messages in stages, with each stage acting as a supporting key for subsequent stages.
• When you don’t know what level of understanding the recipient will have, embed multiple keys ...
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