Why Most Emerging Technologies Are Hard To Explain

If you’re a Founder, CEO, VC or someone with revolutionary technology, and are having a hard time explaining it…I wrote this for you.

Understanding Emerging Technology Is A Challenge of Human Cognition

One of the hardest things for a startup is knowing how to explain its complex technology.

If you’re a company with game-changing or disruptive technology and are having a hard time explaining it to investors, partners or customers…RELAX.

You don’t have a technology problem. You have a MESSAGING PROBLEM.

And all you need is a good emerging technology messaging consultant.

(If you want to skip to what I do CLICK HERE)

I’ve seen numerous confusing websites and investor decks that left me saying “what does this company do?“…and it breaks my heart.

Every year, thousands of startups develop groundbreaking technologies that all promise to reshape the future.

Yet most of these companies struggle to answer one simple question.

“So… what does your company actually do?“

Their website, investor deck and marketing material usually focuses on the benefits, or HOW the technology works..and if you truly have next generation technology, they’re lost.

And if potential investors, customers, or partners don’t immediately understand your technology, they rarely ask a second question. Instead, they lose interest and move on.

Most founders assume the problem is that their technology is too complex.

In reality, the problem is much deeper.

It’s how the human brain works.

The Brain Is Designed to Save Energy

Your brain is incredibly powerful, but it’s also incredibly efficient (same say it’s lazy too).

Every second, it filters massive amounts of information to avoid becoming overwhelmed. One of the ways it accomplishes this is by looking for familiar patterns.

Whenever you’re introduced to something new, your brain immediately asks:

“What do I already know that’s similar to this?”

If it finds a comparison, understanding happens almost instantly.

If it doesn’t, confusion begins.

This process happens automatically, often within seconds.

Now you know why people leave your site so fast.

Why Emerging Technologies Are Hard To Explain

Emerging technologies are different from traditional products. Explaining emerging technology takes a special skill…and AI does a HORRIBLE job.

A restaurant, accounting firm, or construction company is easy to understand because people already have a mental framework for those businesses.

But what happens when someone hears terms like:

• Aneutronic fusion
• Quantum computing
• Synthetic biology
• Spatial computing
• Hyperspace modeling language

Most people have never experienced these technologies before.

Their brain searches for a familiar comparison.

Nothing appears.

The brain essentially says….“I don’t know what this is”

Instead of working harder to understand it, the brain often does exactly what it evolved to do.

It conserves energy.

People stop listening…and investing…and buying.

Now you know why so many startups like to call themseles the FAMOUS TECH for another industry. Example..“We are the AirBNB for tools”

What they are doing is closing the gap…I’ll discuss in a minute.

Why People Don’t Understand New Technology

Most startups believe their biggest challenge is competition.

In many cases, it’s confusion.

People don’t invest in what they don’t understand.

Customers don’t buy products they can’t explain.

Partners don’t champion technologies they can’t describe to someone else.

Confusion creates hesitation.

Hesitation prevents action.

And THAT’S WHY even revolutionary technologies often struggle to gain traction.

The Missing Piece Is a Mental Bridge

This is where messaging becomes critical.

Most companies explain their technology using technical specifications, engineering terminology, patents, and scientific language.

While technically accurate, this rarely creates understanding.

Instead, effective messaging builds a bridge between something unfamiliar and something the audience already understands.

For example, nobody understood cloud computing until people began describing it as “renting computing power over the internet instead of owning servers.”

That comparison instantly reduced complexity.

The technology didn’t change.

The explanation did.

How I Explain Complex Technology To Investors

This is the foundation of my work as an Emerging Technology Messaging Consultant.

I don’t simply rewrite websites or create marketing copy.

I study how people naturally process information…this is from years of studying how the subconscious mind works.

Then I identify the gap between YOUR TECHNOLOGY actually does and what YOUR AUDIENCE already understands.

I create messaging in a story that educates your investor, partner or customer that CLOSES THAT GAP.

Here’s another secret I learned a long time ago and why I am so effective at this…the brain can remember things A LOT better when facts or details are told in a story 🙂

Know what happens next?…people stop feeling confused.

Instead they begin saying…“Now I get it!”

That single moment changes everything.

I call it “Brain-Based Messaging”

Understanding Your Complex Technology Creates Momentum

When people understand your technology:

• Investors write checks.
• Customers recognize the value.
• Sales conversations become easier.
• Media coverage becomes clearer.
• Employees communicate more consistently.
• Word-of-mouth accelerates.
• Adoption increases.

Understanding is the first step toward trust.

Trust leads to action.

Your Great Technology Deserves Great Messaging

History is filled with companies that had incredible technology but failed because they couldn’t explain it.

The best innovations don’t always win.

The technologies people understand usually do.

Messaging isn’t about making your technology sound exciting.

It’s about making it understandable.

Because once people understand it, they can believe in it.

The Best Emerging Technology Messaging Consult Does This

If your technology is difficult to explain, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s too complex.

It may simply mean your audience doesn’t have a familiar reference point.

My job is to create that missing connection.

I’ve been building the mental bridge that transforms complex technologies into ideas people immediately understand…for ALMOST 40 years.

My skill is the ability to explain emerging technology through storytelling.

I’ve learned that when people understand, they pay attention.

When they pay attention, they believe.

And when they believe, they invest, buy, partner, and share.

Understanding isn’t just the goal. It’s the gateway to everything.

What The BEST Technology Messaging Looks Like

First, I listen to you tell me about your technology…and then read your marketing materials, website and deck.

Then I figure how the layman would understand it (simile/analogy).. that is how I nail your story….ask the management team if that is correct.

Then we go to work on editing your website so Google, investors, partners or customers know what you do and how to find you.

If you’re looking for funding, we create a new deck around your new story. More than happy to tell your story in other ways as well.

Finally, your marketing material is revised to this new messaging.

Some call what I do a fractional CMO.

You get C suite marketing experience without having to hire an employee.

How long does this take?

15 minutes.

I can usually tell within a 15 minute video call with you how to explain your technology with THE SAME PASSION you have for it.

Are you ready to hear more of this?

“Now, I got it!”