252. Rethinks: How to Make Complex Ideas Accessible

Presenting complex information for your audience to understand.

As communicators, we often need to take complex information (e.g., financial, technical, or scientific) and make it more understandable for our audience – we’re experts and they likely aren’t. But having so much knowledge on the topics we discuss can often make the job more difficult: we dive in too quickly, forget about our audience's needs, or use jargon that goes over their heads.

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, strategic communications lecturers Matt Abrahams and Lauren Weinstein explore the “curse of knowledge” and offer specific techniques you can use to be more successful in getting your point across.

Episode Reference Links:

Lauren WeinsteinEp.3 When Knowing Too Much Can Hurt Your Communication: How to Make Complex Ideas AccessibleEp.49 Make Numbers Count: How to Communicate Data EffectivelyEp.91 Um, Like, So: How Filler Words Can Create More Connected, Effective Communication

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Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction (02:35) - Where Complexity Breaks Down (03:48) - Start With the Audience (04:50) - The Power of Analogy (07:51) - The “Chunking” Technique (09:46) - Make Data Relatable (11:56) - The Final Three Question (15:19) - Conclusion

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