“I’m gonna make stuff up.” – Toby Wall, serious marketer
Don’t take my quote from the video out of context.
I’m the kind of learner who needs to poke and prod at a concept before I feel comfortable saying, “I get it.”
That’s why my subject matter interviews are rife with assumptions and hypotheticals and too many “what if” questions to count.
Interviewers: the audience’s surrogate
But this is far from a selfish learning exercise. Because surely some folks in the target audience of a content piece learn the same way I do. Surely they form assumptions the truth or falsehood of which strengthen their understanding of a topic.
When I put an educated assumption in front of an expert for them to affirm or shoot down, it’s as if I become every would-be buyer’s surrogate.
That’s pretty powerful.
But it also requires humility: I’m wrong in my assumptions at least as often as I’m right. If you’re an interviewer, don’t censor assumptions just because you fear being wrong. In this context, being wrong is great and should be cherished.
So, I’m gonna make stuff up.
After all, you know what happens when you assume?
You learn.
