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I think this is something most people struggle with. In my personal opinion, when I find it hard to explain things it's often related to one of the following:

I think this is something most people struggle with. In my personal opinion, when I find it hard to explain things it's often related to one of the following: 1. I honestly don't know it as well as I think. This is a hard pill to swallow, but most of the time it's the reason why we struggle to explain things in clear terms. 2. We are often conditioned to use terms that the audience doesn't fully understand. e.g., Industry terms. 3. I haven't given it enough thought before trying to explain it. Find someone who is willing to listen to you speak. Hopefully they'll be patient enough to listen to you when you repeat yourself in different ways. Lastly, I found that sometimes I struggle with trying to over explain things. There's a tipping point where you're audience is "comfortable" with what you explained, but once you go beyond that, it's like dragging them into deep waters. Learn to be comfortable with not being fully "correct". Meaning, explain enough so they have a good idea of what you're saying. It's a starting point for the next thing they will need/want to know.

WheelsAtLarge 8y ago
>1. I honestly don't know it as well as I think. This is a hard pill to swallow, but most of the time it's the reason why we struggle to explain things in clear terms. This is extremely true. Students often fall into the trap that they know something just because they can follow along when a teacher is doing it. But following is not the same as understanding and learning. >3. I haven't given it enough thought before trying to explain it. I think this is one of the main reasons we have trouble with explanations. We understand the subject but that doesn't mean we can explain it in terms that newbies can understand. Some of the worst teachers are the experts that have been doing something for a long time. Once they understand something it's hard to see why everyone should not but they don't realize that they've gained much of their understanding over years. Also, keep it simple. Reddit has the, "Explain it like I'm five" group so just follow that advice. Your subject will let you know if you are being too basic and you can adjust as needed. My advice is to plan the explanation before you try it, minimize jargon, keep it simple and make sure you know what you are talking about.
cx42net 8y ago
I think you nailed it. I do try to explain more in depth (too much). I'm working a lot on this and stop explaining when the main basis is covered, but my pragmatic approach forces me to cover ALL the parts. I also agree with @WheelsAtLarge about that I might now know a subject as good as I think. When I start explaining something, I realize that I came short on explaining some parts because I lack the knowledge. Thank you for your comment, it was helpful.

WheelsAtLarge 8y ago

>1. I honestly don't know it as well as I think. This is a hard pill to swallow, but most of the time it's the reason why we struggle to explain things in clear terms. This is extremely true. Students often fall into the trap that they know something just because they can follow along when a teacher is doing it. But following is not the same as understanding and learning. >3. I haven't given it enough thought before trying to explain it. I think this is one of the main reasons we have trouble with explanations. We understand the subject but that doesn't mean we can explain it in terms that newbies can understand. Some of the worst teachers are the experts that have been doing something for a long time. Once they understand something it's hard to see why everyone should not but they don't realize that they've gained much of their understanding over years. Also, keep it simple. Reddit has the, "Explain it like I'm five" group so just follow that advice. Your subject will let you know if you are being too basic and you can adjust as needed. My advice is to plan the explanation before you try it, minimize jargon, keep it simple and make sure you know what you are talking about.

cx42net 8y ago

I think you nailed it. I do try to explain more in depth (too much). I'm working a lot on this and stop explaining when the main basis is covered, but my pragmatic approach forces me to cover ALL the parts. I also agree with @WheelsAtLarge about that I might now know a subject as good as I think. When I start explaining something, I realize that I came short on explaining some parts because I lack the knowledge. Thank you for your comment, it was helpful.