When you need this

Explaining is usually one person or a small group: a new process to a colleague, a problem to your manager, a price to a client. Presenting is the same skill in front of a room. Both depend on the same handful of phrases, the ones that tell listeners where you are and check that they're still with you.

Three habits make you easier to follow in any language. Give the short version first, so people know where you're going. Move one point at a time and say when you're changing points. And check understanding in the middle, not only at the end, because by the end a confused listener has stopped listening. When someone asks a question you can't answer, say so and promise a time. "I'm not sure, but I'll find out" earns more trust than a guess.

Phrases

explain something step by step

giving the summary first

the most important idea

saying it again more clearly

rephrasing when people look confused

making an idea concrete

checking understanding halfway through

a friendly check at the end

asking for patience for a moment

saving a question for later in your talk

thanking the person and buying a second to think

an honest answer when you don't know

stressing that something is exact

Say it out loud

Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.

Practice · 3 min

Say the line that fits. Situation on the left, one natural line on the right.

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Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.