Explain yourself! Simple techniques to help you explain complex ideas.

The ability to explain things is a fundamental life skill. Without it, we would be alone and isolated - unable to share our thoughts, ideas and feelings with the rest of the world. Literally stuck inside our own skulls.

Because if you can’t explain, you can’t persuade. You can’t influence others. You can’t make a difference in the world. You may have the answers to all of life’s problems, but if you can’t get them out of your head, your brain might as well be made of concrete.

And I don’t mean explaining things in a Hollywood-style “Hang on Your Honour, I can explain…” kind of way (useful though that may be in some circumstances). I’m talking about how you go about teaching your firstborn child how to ride their bike. Or how you train a colleague to make you a ‘proper’ cup of tea, rather than the milky dishwater they insist on serving you. Or how to describe to a friend, in even the most basic terms, the plot of the movie Interstellar.

So yeah, being able to explain stuff is pretty useful.

But whilst the art of explaining things is the bedrock of effective communication, it is often overlooked. It isn’t taught in schools. It’s one of these things that you’re just expected to pick up along the way, as you grow up.

It’s a cruel twist of irony that no-one ever explains how to explain things.

In my job working on large IT projects, the ability to explain things is absolutely critical. It’s effectively what I spend my entire day doing. Explaining business concepts to developers. Explaining technical issues to business people. My job title could be Explainer-In-Chief.

And in my experience, there are a number of tips and tricks to help along the way. Some of these things may not always be necessary, some may not make sense to your particular situation. Think of this as a toolkit, you can pick and choose the right tools to fit your scenario.

Check your own understanding

First things first, it’s a whole lot more difficult to explain something if you don’t fully understand it yourself. In fact, it’s probably near impossible.

So make sure you’re crystal clear. And if you’re not, be prepared to do some homework before you even think about trying to explain something to someone else. If you don’t do that legwork, you’ll be in trouble as soon as your audience starts asking you questions.

Start with ‘why’

Too many people jump straight into explaining something without covering the ‘why’. But everything else in an explanation flows outwards from the ‘why’, so remember to start off with some context.

Think about why it is important that your audience understands this thing that needs explaining. Why does it even exist in the first place, just wanting - needing - to be explained?

The particular ‘why’ questions will vary depending on your situation, but the principle is the same… you need to set the scene before you dive in.?

So if you’re trying to explain your cool new invention, first tell us why you built it. Why does this particular problem need solving? Why were people struggling with the status quo?

When Steve Jobs launched the iPhone in 2007, this first section of his presentation wasn’t about the iPhone at all. It was about all the other supposedly ‘smart’ phones out there in the market at the time. He went into detail about how users struggled with the teeny-tiny keyboards, the styluses (which people generally hated, or lost, or both), and how they had a cut-down user interface and a slow, basic operating system.?

Right away, he sets the scene, and helps you understand hy the iPhone was needed. Then, when he dives into what the iPhone does, and how it does it, we have a good grounding. The iPhone has a multi-touch screen? We know why - it supersedes the mini-keyboard and the stylus. Full-featured operating system? That’s so that the iPhone can run rich, fully-functional software. We get it.

So start with some context, to help your audience understand the ‘why’.

PS - hat tip to “Start with Why” by “Simon Sinek.

Build up in layers

This one is really important, especially if you’ve got something particularly complicated to explain. Start simple, and build understanding step-by-step.

Ever seen an artist create a painting on a blank canvas? It’s pretty unusual for them to start painting in high definition in the top left corner, and keep moving slowly across the canvas until they reach the bottom right. That’s not how painting works.

Instead, an artist would generally start by sketching out the shape and positioning of the main subject. Then - and this is important - they’ll take a step back and look at the canvas a whole. They’ll check it looks OK, and fix whatever needs fixing until they’re happy with it, and they’re ready to move onto the next step.

Next they might add some finer details to the sketch. Then basic block colours, then more detailed colours, then fine light and shading. At each stage they stop, step back and check, and adjust as necessary.

You can do the same… start by explaining the core concept, then build on it, adding detail layer by layer, until your audience has a rich canvas in their mind.

Read the room

This builds on the previous point

After you’ve explained a concept, stop and check that your audience understands what you’ve just covered. Ask them. Check their body language - do they look lost? Baffled? Asleep? Or are they engaged and nodding along?

Since you’re going to be building your explanation step-by-step, it’s really important to make sure each step is understood before moving on to the next. If it isn’t crystal clear, go back and try again before moving on. If you don’t, you’re just? going to sow even more confusion as you add complexity.

Take questions, and clarify any misunderstandings. Roll back to first principles if you need to. You can even ask them to explain it back to you, as the ultimate test.

What’s it like?

If you can compare your ‘thing’ to something else in the real world, you can borrow your audience’s in-built understanding of that thing. It goes like this - “Ever heard of X? No? It’s like Y, but with a bit of Z.”?

Ever seen the movie Chicken Run? It’s like The Great Escape, but with… you know… chickens.

A football fan says “This guy is the next Messi”, and you can already picture a silky-skilled player dancing through defences with the ball glued to his feet. The explanation immediately leverages what the audience already knows about the diminutive Argentinian footballer.

But possibly the all-time best example of this technique comes from classic movie Armageddon (yes, really). The genius scientist guy is telling the Whitehouse Situation Room why they need to send a team of oil drilling roughnecks into space, to set a nuke in the middle of the giant earth-bound meteor:

“Imagine a firecracker on the palm of your hand. You set it off, what happens? You burn your hand right? But you close your fist around the same firecracker and set it off, and your wife’s gonna be opening your ketchup bottles the rest of your life.”

How’s that for explaining some complex astrophysics in a couple of sentences? Boom! (literally).

Assume nothing

Don’t assume your audience knows all the acronyms. Don’t assume they saw last week’s company briefing on the Q4 sales figures. Don’t assume they understand the nuances of JavaScript. Don’t assume they have already seen the first four seasons of Viking Quest.

Because what if you’re wrong? Your explanation is dead in the water before you even start. You can’t build on sand.

So check your assumptions, and be prepared to do a bit of extra explaining if your audience isn’t as clued up as you thought.

Draw it out on paper

There is absolutely nothing on this planet that helps with understanding more than a diagram. I mean, can you imagine IKEA self-assembly instructions without any diagrams?

Take screw 19B and screw it into the third hole on the left of part 74, being careful to align it with the corresponding flange on bracket J.

Eugh.

A diagram cuts through the noise, and presents the bare facts in a way that our brains can easily consume. It is a powerful tool, especially for visual learners.

In fact, diagrams can be so powerful that they may be the only tool for explanation that is needed.

Use their language

You’ve got to speak their language. If your audience is technical, then you can use their jargon (but be prepared to explain it if needed). But if the user is a beginner, or a child, or any kind of non-expert, you need to use language that they are comfortable with.

Remember, words create worlds. Your choice of words can either switch people on, or switch them off.

Get your hands dirty (and theirs)

Like a diagram, a demonstration can go a really long way to helping understanding. Show, don’t tell. And even better if your audience can get involved too.

How would you teach someone to drive a manual car, without them being able to try it for themselves? You need to convey the process of engaging first gear by gently raising the clutch and simultaneously pressing the accelerator pedal, in order to find the ‘bite’ point, without a) revving the hell out of it, or b) stalling the car. It’s a subtle thing; an intuitive thing. The kind of thing that is really hard to explain, but if you try it, sooner or later you’ll ‘just get it’.

Words might give someone the theory, but you wouldn’t let them loose in your Ferrari if they only theoretically knew how to drive, right?

Now it’s over to you...

We’ve looked at a set of tools that can help us with this most human of challenges - how to explain things. How to be understood.?

By applying these tools and techniques, you will have a better chance of being able to convey your ideas to the world. Go give them a try!?

But even with all these tools, you may still be on your own trying to explain Interstellar…

Who knows, maybe Christopher Nolan has a killer diagram.