Summary
the ability to explain is an important life skill for returning citizens reentering society after prison
We use our ability to explain in all parts of our lives. At work, shopping, and with everyone we have conversations with. It is an important life skill that helps us communicate well and gives value to what we say.
Life skills are necessary for full and successful participation in everyday life. So what are “Life Skills”?
Life Skills are all the things that enable us to interact socially with other people in our community. They are also the skills we use to maintain a roof over our head, a job, and food on our table. Being able to pay bills, get to work on time, listen to other people, and resolving conflicts are a few examples. In this blog series we are going to discuss some “critical social life skills”. Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, Empathy, Listening, and Ability to Explain. Today’s blog is about The Ability To Explain.
So how can we improve our life skill of “ability to explain”?
Know your purpose – what is the goal of your explanation? Most people start losing attention 30 seconds after someone starts talking. That makes your start important. Get their attention and present your main subject right away.
Know your audience. Don’t assume people know all the details. Do they know a little or a lot about the subject? If you are unsure, then ask. Are they ready to listen? What things do they identify with? Try to understand how something can be seen differently by different people.
Eye contact. Just like in listening, eye contact is also important for explaining or talking. It tells people “this is important I had better listen” and “this person cares about what they are talking about”.
Remain calm. This is extremely important. Words are lost on people when it is not delivered in a calm way.
Keep it simple – explaining what words mean is distracting and talking too long loses people’s attention. Keep your facts short. You can back them up later with more detail.
Stay on subject and focused. Don’t get distracted with other subjects. If you get off track for your message then you will fail in the explanation.
Break it down into different parts so it is not only easier to explain but also easier to receive and understand. Each part may deserve its own focus.
Provide the key details but leave other details for further conversation. This gives a person time to process what you explained and leaves you material later to build on which shows you are knowledgeable without being overwhelming with the original explanation.
Give examples. I may have a hard time understanding how to work around elephants but if you explain it to me as it being like a really really big stubborn dog it will be easier for me to identify with. But don’t overdo it or else I might forget about the elephant and only want to talk about dogs. Find or think of things the person or people have knowledge of and use it to your advantage for your explanation.
Give an example story. Maybe you are trying to explain to city official how bad the sidewalks are somewhere. Give them an example you know, such as someone who tripped and injured themselves. Politicians do this all the time because it works. We all identify with things better when we hear a true story about how something is bad or good or etc. I would be more likely to buy a motorcycle helmet if I read how it saved someone’s life, than if an ad simply says it might save someone’s life. Real examples work great but don’t let it become a long story.
Ask questions to see if your explanation is being understood. Be nice about it because people can feel offended and think you think they are stupid. So, not too many questions and you can spread the questions out. As simple as “Is this making sense?” or “am I explaining this ok?” or “do you know what I mean?”.
You can practice with friends or family. Or even write out something and then reread it. Think about how you would want to have different things explained to you.
Look for our other blogs in this Life Skills series.”Negotiation”, “Conflict Resolution”, “Empathy”, “Listening”, & “Ability To Explain”.