Why Relevance Changes Everything: Learning Better From People Who Speak Your Language

We Don’t Just Learn From Experts. We Learn From Familiarity.

There’s a quiet truth about learning we don’t often talk about:We don’t just learn from expertise. We learn from familiarity.

We lean in a little closer when someone sounds like us, comes from where we come from, or solves the same kinds of problems we face. It’s not just comfort. It’s trust.

And that trust can make all the difference—especially when you’re trying to learn something complex.

The Problem With Perfectly Polished Examples

Let’s say you’re trying to get into machine learning. You do the usual—watch tutorials, read docs, maybe even attend workshops. You’re introduced to classification, regression, clustering.

But every example?

• Predicting flower types based on petal width.

• Recognizing handwritten digits.

• Filtering spam emails.

Clean. Curated. Abstract. You understand the concept, but something doesn’t stick. It’s like someone handed you a well-sharpened tool—without showing you what it’s actually used for.

“I get the algorithm, but I don’t feel connected to what it’s solving.”

There’s friction and you feel no excitement either.Because it’s not your world.

Then Comes Someone Who Speaks Your Language

Now imagine someone who started in your shoes.Say they were once a Salesforce engineer.They moved into data science—and now, they’re explaining machine learning through your lens.

Instead of flowers, they’re talking about predicting if a sales opportunity will be closed-won or closed-lost.

Same binary classification.But now?

• The data structure makes sense.

• The cleaning steps are familiar.

• You don’t need to translate anything in your head.

You’re not just understanding the method—you’re seeing yourself in the method.

“That’s literally my day job. Now it clicks.”

This Is Why Context Beats Credentials

We tend to assume that the more experienced someone is, the more we’ll learn from them. And yes, credentials matter. But in reality? Some of the best learning comes from people who are just one step ahead of you.

They have not forgotten the path you’re currently on.They still speak your dialect.And they know which pain points actually matter.

“The best teacher isn’t always the one at the top. Sometimes it’s the one who just climbed the last few steps ahead of you.”

Don’t Just Teach Content. Teach in Context.

This applies just as much when you’re the one sharing.Whether it’s a blog, a workshop, or a quick post on LinkedIn—if you want your ideas to land, don’t just explain the what.

Ground it in the who.Who’s reading this?What do they already know?Where are they coming from?

Teaching isn’t just about delivering knowledge. It’s about meeting someone at their level, and showing them what’s possible from there.

The Best Learning Happens When You Feel Seen

The moment you feel like, “This was meant for me,” You stop skimming. You stop second-guessing. You lean in and understand.