PE 8: Help Them Understand

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There are an unlimited number of wrong ways your message can be taken, and only one right way. So, you must ensure that you are crystal clear in what you’re trying to convey, first in your own mind and then in the mind of the listener.

In this podcast, I talk about why understanding is critical, and then go into the science of what is going on in the listener’s mind as they receive information; finally, I suggest techniques and tips to ensure that you won’t be misunderstood.

Understanding is important because it’s a crucial step in delivering value to the other person—transferring knowledge they can use. Second, it’s also persuasive, because our minds equate simplicity with truth. If it’s easy to understand it feels right.

There is a lot going on in both minds when two people communicate. First, you have to turn the ideas in your brain into words and coherent sentences. Next the listener captures the incoming information through two channels, the auditory and phonetic. Second, they must process the material; most of the mental work of understanding takes place in working memory, which is a mental “scratch pad” where you interpret the information, retrieve knowledge and existing models from your long term memory, figure out how to connect what you’re hearing and seeing with what you know, and finally store it for future use.

There are five ways to ensure that you are clearly understood:

1. Meaning before detail: give them the big picture so they can orient themselves.
2. Provide clear structure: so they can follow your logic and organize incoming detail.
3. Feed the information at the right pace: don’t overload or underload working memory.
4. Use simple language: pretentious language actually makes you sound less intelligent.
5. Adjust to your audience: Start with what they know, and monitor their reactions.