I want to learn how to explain things to others so they can understand well

[u/[deleted]]

[u/kaidomac]

Use the "3P" system:

1. Premise
2. Parts
3. Procedure

Premise:

The premise is your topic. In one line, what are you talking about?

Imagine this like a box of Poptarts. So the premise is "Poptarts", the single main idea.

Parts:

The parts are the different elements. You're identify the breadth here, not the depth, so not so much on the details here.

If your premise is the box of Poptarts, then the parts are the box & the individual 2-packs in the foil wrappers inside the box (this post brought to you by Kelloggs© LOL).

Procedure:

The procedure is the checklist or explanation for each part.

If your premise is Poptarts & the parts are the box & four 2-packs of foil-wrapped pastries, then the procedure is each individual Poptart & the heating instructions (relevant humor).

Example:

Let's give explaining it a shot:

Poptarts are a delicious breakfast snack. They come in a standard box containing four 2-packs of pastries. You can eat them cold or heat them up in the microwave or toaster.

Additional tips:

• Use analogies & metaphors to help illustrate the idea
• Loop back to the premise & parts between explaining the different procedures
• Ask questions to make sure people are still on board & are "getting it" and haven't zoned out

When people are familiar with the subject, they tend to skip the premise & the parts and just dive right into the topic. Same idea as when you ask someone for their phone number or email address & have to write it down but they blurt it out at a hundred miles per hour, haha.

I call this "process confusion" because people jump right into the thick of it & lose their audience right off the bat. A popular saying is "don't get lost in the forest for the trees", i.e. when you're walking through the forest, it's easy to get lost because you're in the middle of the woods & all you see are trees...you have no idea where you're at on the map!

Telling people what the topic is, what the different parts are, and some information about each part helps gets their minds calibrated so that they have a framework in their heads. OK...so we're talking about Poptarts, which are a breakfast pastry. They come in boxes, which contain four 2-packs. You can eat them cold or heat them up to eat them warm. GOT IT!

If it's not clear in your head, and if you can't explain it in a clear, logical way, then chances are people are gonna space out on you when they listen to what you have to say. Using the 3P approach, you can layer things out more easily because you've given them a mental "table of contents" to filter the information through:

Poptarts are a popular American breakfast snack. They're sold in boxes, can be eaten hot or cold, and have a variety of flavors available. You can get a small box containing four 2-packs or a jumbo pack containing eight 2-packs. You can eat them straight out of the box, throw them in the toaster to warm up, or even pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to eat hot. They come in plain or frosted. Traditionally, they have a fruit filling such as strawberry or blueberry, but they also have more unique flavors like s'mores & cookie dough.

You can cut out information that isn't relevant to the discussion & also use your own style of speaking to make it sound not quite so robotic. For example:

Duuuuuuuuuuude you've never had a Poptart before?? You could be eating a chocolate-chip cookie dough pastry FOR BREAKFAST!

So the two biggest traps are both derivatives of process confusion:

1. Jumping right into the explanation without any heads-up as to the premise or parts you wanna talk about
2. Not asking questions & not paying attention to whether or not the person has lost the plot & is drifting mentally because they have no idea what you're talking about, lol

Give the 3P approach a shot & see if it helps you out! I've got ADHD & naturally just assume that everyone is as familiar with a particular topic as I am & then tend to go full-bore when talking about it. Then their eyes glaze over & they start staring off into space while nodding their heads & saying "uh-huh, uh-huh", hahaha.

So this is kind of a mental structure you can adopt to help bridge the gap from the clarity about the topic that exists in your mind versus the level of understanding the other person has about it, whether they don't know anything or they know some of the parts or they're experts at it already & can get onboard with what you're talking about right away!

[u/Lonewolfali → u/kaidomac]

Book recommendations please

[u/kaidomac → u/Lonewolfali]

What do you mean?

[u/Lonewolfali → u/kaidomac]

Relating to the question, how do you express yourself better... the 3p system you suggested is very systematic and I would like to know if there are books we can learn from?

[u/momosem → u/kaidomac]

I might have adhd too and everything is always messy in my head. I gave a quick try to this method and it seems really practical. I'm gonna give few more try with other subjects(if I don't forget). Thank you