The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence

Are there ways you could find out more? Provide a few bullet points. • Where will this be consumed? One sentence maximum. • Is there a fixed duration? Specify a number of words or minutes. • Is the duration strict? Yes / No

If someone is struggling to explain something, often not enough time has been given to working out what the essential detail is – and then making space for it and explaining why it’s essential.

Who is this explanation for? Give the answer in one sentence maximum. • Is there a consistency of knowledge amongst those you’re addressing? Yes / No • How do you assess their knowledge of this subject? • How would you summarise what they’d like to learn from you? • What specific questions will this explanation need to answer? • What, if anything,

In its simplest form, this is what I’m trying to do when I’m explaining myself: • I want to provide all the information that someone needs from me or that I would like to give them. • And I want to give them that information in a way that gives it the best chance of being consumed and understood.

Then, my wife, Sara, gave me a book called Persiana by Sabrina Ghayour. The recipes were short, the ingredients lists relatively so and the language straightforward.

the person doing the explanation has either come up against a limit on their own knowledge or their own willingness to make the subject accessible.

Just as any temptations to use clever or complex vocabulary to look, well, clever or complex should be resisted, so should making references for the same purpose.

All journalists are familiar with the two questions – what’s the lead? And what’s the top line? Meaning What is our most important story? And What is the first thing we want to say about that story?

with them, they pay less attention and are less likely to respond.