The first step in influencing anyone in business is explaining what you mean. People have to understand your ideas and how to do what you want them to do. Here’s how you can explain anything so people can actually understand you.

What’s Wrong with Them?

It’s maddening. You have something important that a person or group of people need to understand. If they do, then significant things will happen that will make a difference. So you jump in. You go through it all – the information, details, background and steps. That’s it. You’ve explained. Let the action start and the results roll in!

Instead? Silence – nothing but the sound of crickets. What’s wrong? Why don’t they get it? If you are having problems helping people to understand what you are saying, what you want them to do and how … it’s not them – it’s you.

The Cold, Hard Truth

We can’t control the speed of understanding. We can’t make our customers and colleagues understand quicker and more comfortably until we explain things for them and not to them. There isn’t a single aspect of a workday that doesn’t involve explaining and trying to understand.

Instead of looking at it as an exercise in mechanics, let’s look at explaining things from an audience experience perspective.

Usually, the ideas, processes and practices we want to communicate are simple. We just muck them up trying to explain them. It is sickening to look over and see the dreaded “blink.” You know the reaction – a stunned, slow-motion blink that says you missed the boat, fumbled the ball and never made the connection. Mentally, Elvis has left the building.

But it’s even worse from the listener’s perspective. They get emotional. What happens if people don’t understand? You get four reactions:

Confused

Embarrassed

Frustrated

Angry

None of these makes for a positive experience. So break the cycle. You can begin by really thinking things through before you say the first word. Think of it as your own personal Communication Therapy.

Your Communication Therapy

It’s easy. Just take this quick, personal Rorschach test. Look deep into your soul and answer these questions.

1. What are you trying to do?

Are you trying to explain what things are, what they do, or how to do it? Do the people on the other side want to know the answer or only how to get the answer?

2. What are you really explaining?

Explaining and understanding are two very different things. Your goal is build understanding – not to prove your expertise.

3. What’s the big deal?

Is talking to the other person even worth the effort? Sometimes people have very good reasons not to care. What will happen once they understand? What will be the result, and how will you know?

Don’t Ignore This!

Write this down, draw lines under it and then add a red circle because it is absolutely critical. Don’t explain anything you don’t understand yourself! You can’t fake it and expect people to get it. If you don’t really understand, just don’t say anything. It’s better to say you don’t know than to start rambling and convince everyone that you’re a fake. But what if you DO know what you’re talking about?

How to Explain Anything

There are two parts of this. Preparing to explain and actually explaining. Here are the basic steps for getting ready.

Preparation

1. Start from the listener’s or the audience’s perspective. Knowing how they want to understand the information is 50 times more important than how you want to explain it.

2. Break it up your ideas and explanation into small “baby steps.” The secret is to think of things as small, separate actions or concepts. You can break any idea or procedure down this way and make it instantly easier to follow.

3. Keep everything SIMPLE. Explain at the lowest level and use the least amount of information. Think in terms of nouns and verbs. Forget the pronouns and adjectives. Be as short and specific as possible.

4. Be brutal and eliminate any detail that’s not absolutely necessary. We all tend to want to say more than people actually need to hear. The more complicated the topic, the simpler the explanation needs to be. You don’t have to know how wireless telephone networks work to learn how to use an iPhone.

Help Them Understand

Okay, this is the explaining part. Let’s help that person or group understand your message and what they are supposed to do. I’m not going to tell you how to present. This is more a list of ideas and techniques to make sure they grasp your ideas.

•  Before you start, ask people if they really want to know about the topic. If they’re interested, then rock on. If they’re not , then give them a reason to pay attention or just skip the whole thing. People who don’t care don’t want to understand.

•  Use short sentences and simple words. Imagine you are telling a 10^th-grade child. The idea isn’t to talk down; it’s to use the easiest-to-understand language.

•  Be patient. Plan on people not understanding at first. High-speed talk isn’t engaging. So present an idea or step, allow the person or group to process it and then move on when they understand.

•  Don’t make detours or share stories and examples that don’t make things clearer. Your colorful tale may end up being remembered instead of your idea.

Energize the Explanations

These are the real power tools that can dramatically improve your listeners’ experience. You should do these things.

Compare the new ideas, procedures and processes to ones they already know. Compare and contrast is very powerful. It’s a lot more efficient to explain what’s different than wasting time explaining things people already know.

Draw pictures. You don’t have to be an artist. Don’t start with the finished diagram – build it as you go along. The big idea is to visualize the relationships between the parts. People understand more quickly if they can visualize the way things relate to each other or fit together.

Use analogies and metaphors. They have the almost Harry Potterish magic to help you explain the unknown in terms that everyone knows. Use metaphors and analogies from the listeners’ world and not your own. Metaphors compare two things, such as “Time is money.” Analogies draw parallels. Usually the simpler and more outrageous the analogy, the more effective it is. Just make sure the person or the audience can understand it.

Have lots of understanding checks. Just stop and ask if they’re following you. “Do you understand?” or “Have you got it?” actually doesn’t work well because you are drawing a line in the sand. Most people will lie to you because they don’t want to appear dumb. Try this instead. Ask, “Does this make sense?” or “Can you see how this can work for you?” Now people can focus on the material and not their ability.

Special, Super Tip – Really, I Mean It

Gang, this is my favorite and it makes a huge different in understanding.

Ask them to “play back” what they understand. This is the fastest way to make sure everyone gets what you’re saying. The person or the group has to think through and process what they’ve seen and heard. Then they explain it back to you. If it’s right, you can go on. If they are off track, just correct where they’re wrong and move ahead – don’t start over.

The best part is, you are able to explain at the speed of the person’s understanding – you’re in sync!

An Understanding Experience

Your ability to create a memorable “Understanding Experience” can directly boost your job performance. Think about it. No one really cares how well you explain. All they want to do is comprehend what you’re saying and move ahead. So keep things simple and real-world. Build on what the person or group already knows. And watch your effectiveness grow.

Now you can explain anything to anyone and make them understand.

Let’s spend 15 minutes talking about your next project or challenge. It’s a free consultation so we can get to know each other. Just click on CONTACT US or send an email to andy@ideagroupatlanta.com and get in touch.

POSTS YOU MIGHT LIKE

Four Lessons on Grabbing Attention from Some Old F@®t on the Beach!