How I Learned Your Audience Isn't One Group
What Training a Store Manager and a Complete Beginner at the Same Time Taught Me About Communication
TL;DR: In 2002, I faced an impossible training challenge—teaching both a tech-savvy store manager and someone who'd never used a mouse before in the same room. The Solitaire solution I discovered became the adaptive communication framework that now transforms how solo creators build authentic brand partnerships.
In 2002, I found myself in a training room in Cornwall with 16 people staring at computer screens, and I had a problem.
At one end of the table sat a store manager, let's call him Mark, who was practically vibrating with IT confidence. He'd been clicking around the system before I'd even finished my introduction, trying to "figure it out" on his own. Classic Level 5 tech user.
At the other end sat Margaret, a lovely part-time lady who helped in the cash office a few days a week. She was staring at the mouse like it might bite her. She'd never used a computer before in her life. Classic Level 1.
Between them sat 14 other people ranging from Level 2 to Level 4 in computer literacy.
I had one training course. One timeline. One room. And 16 completely different starting points.
The Moment Everything Could Have Gone Wrong
"Right," I announced, "let's start with the basics of navigating the new EPOS system."
Mark immediately started clicking through menus, muttering about how "this looks similar to the old system" and "I think I can work this out." Meanwhile, Margaret hadn't even touched her mouse yet.
Within five minutes, Mark had somehow managed to get himself into a screen I hadn't planned to show until day three, while Margaret was still figuring out which end of the mouse to hold.
This was going to be a disaster.
I had spent weeks preparing this training for the new system rollout across my region which stretched from Cirencester to Penzance, the bottom corner of the UK. Each store in my patch would get 2 days of intensive training to transition to the new system. But if I couldn't handle this first group, how was I going to train hundreds of people across Cornwall and beyond?
The Solitaire Solution
That's when I made a decision that probably seemed crazy to everyone in the room.
"Margaret," I said, "would you like to play a game?"
I opened Solitaire on her computer.
Mark looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "We're here to learn the EPOS system, not play games."
"Exactly," I replied. "But before we can run, we need to learn to walk. And before Margaret can navigate our retail system, she needs to be comfortable with a mouse."
For the next twenty minutes, while I had the more advanced users work through basic system navigation at their own pace, I sat with Margaret and taught her how to click, drag, and double-click using Solitaire.
"Click on the red seven and drag it to the black eight," I'd say. "Perfect! Now double-click on that ace to move it to the foundation pile."
Margaret's face lit up as she got the hang of it. Meanwhile, I was keeping one eye on Mark, making sure his explorations didn't break anything important.
The Revelation About Meeting People Where They Are
By the end of that first session, something magical had happened.
Margaret had gained enough mouse confidence to start following the basic training exercises.
Mark had burned through his initial curiosity and was ready to follow the structured curriculum.
But more importantly, I'd learned something that would change how I approached every training session afterward: authentic communication isn't about finding the perfect message, it's about delivering the right message to each person in the language they understand.
Margaret needed patient, step-by-step guidance with plenty of encouragement.
Mark needed to feel challenged and respected for his existing knowledge while being redirected toward the learning objectives.
The others needed variations between these two extremes.
This wasn't just about computer training.
This was about human psychology, respect, and meeting people exactly where they are instead of where you wish they were.
The Framework That Emerged
Over the following weeks, I refined what I now call the "Adaptive Communication Framework":
Level 1 learners need safe spaces to practice basics without judgment. They need encouragement for small wins and patience for mistakes. They're not slow, they're careful, and that carefulness often makes them the most thorough users once they gain confidence.
Level 5 learners need to feel respected for their existing knowledge while being guided toward new learning. They need challenges and the freedom to explore within boundaries. They're not impatient, they're eager, and that eagerness can be channeled into helping others.
Levels 2-4 need clear progression paths and examples they can relate to their current understanding. They need to see the logical steps between where they are and where they're going.
The key insight?
You can't treat everyone the same and expect authentic connection.
What This Means for Your Brand Relationships
Think about your audience right now. Are you trying to communicate the same way to everyone?
Your brand partners, your audience, your potential collaborators—they're all at different "levels" of understanding about what you do, how you work, and what value you bring.
Some are like Mark; experienced, confident, maybe a little impatient with basics. They want to see your advanced strategies, your sophisticated approaches, your cutting-edge thinking. They don't need you to explain why creator partnerships work; they want to know how you do them differently.
Others are like Margaret; new to your world, uncertain about terminology, needing reassurance that they can succeed. They want clear, simple explanations and lots of encouragement. They need to understand what a brand partnership even looks like before they can evaluate whether you're the right person to help.
Most are somewhere in between, at various stages of understanding and confidence.
The mistake I see most solo creators make is creating content for only one level. They either dumb everything down (boring the Marks) or assume too much knowledge (losing the Margarets).
The Solitaire Principle in Practice
Just like I used Solitaire to bridge Margaret's gap, you need "bridging content" that helps people move from their current level to where they need to be.
For your Level 1 audience: Create "Solitaire moments", simple, encouraging first steps that build confidence without overwhelming them. This might be a basic glossary of terms, a behind-the-scenes look at what you actually do, or a simple checklist they can follow.
For your Level 5 audience: Provide advanced insights and strategic thinking while acknowledging their existing expertise. Share your contrarian takes, your sophisticated frameworks, your industry critiques. Let them know you see them as peers, not students.
For everyone in between: Show clear progression paths. Help them see how to move from where they are to where they want to be, one logical step at a time.
This doesn't mean creating different content for different people—it means crafting your communication so it has entry points for multiple levels.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
In today's creator economy, everyone's shouting about their expertise. But authentic expertise isn't about having all the answers—it's about meeting people where they are and helping them move forward from there.
The brands that work best with creators are the ones that adapt their communication style to match their partner's level of experience, comfort with complexity, and preferred way of working.
The creators who build the strongest relationships are the ones who recognise that not every brand partner will be at the same level of understanding about creator partnerships, and they adapt accordingly.
Margaret taught me that sometimes the most profound breakthroughs happen when you slow down enough to teach someone to use a mouse.
Mark taught me that expertise needs to be channeled, not suppressed.
The Long-Term Impact
By the end of the 2 day course, something remarkable had happened. Margaret had become one of the most confident users of the new system. Mark had become a mentor to newer users. And I'd learned that authentic training, like authentic brand relationships, isn't about having the perfect system.
It's about adapting that system to meet people where they actually are, not where you wish they were.
Twenty years later, when I work with solo creators building brand partnerships, I still use the lessons from that Cornwall training room. The most successful partnerships happen when both sides communicate in ways the other can understand and value.
Your Solitaire Moment
Here's my question for you: Who are the Margarets and Marks in your audience?
Are you creating space for both the complete beginners who need encouragement and the experienced professionals who want to be challenged?
Your next piece of content, your next brand partnership conversation, your next client interaction, can you identify what "level" they're at and adapt your communication accordingly?
Sometimes the most profound business relationships start with the equivalent of teaching someone to play Solitaire. You meet them where they are, give them the tools they need to succeed, and build from there.
That's authentic relationship building.
That's sustainable partnership development.
And it all started in a training room in Cornwall with a mouse, a card game, and the recognition that one size definitely does not fit all.
With courage and conviction,
What level are your current brand relationships operating at? Hit reply, leave a comment and tell me about a time you had to adapt your communication style for different people.
I learn something from every response.