The titles within my stack of library books have been all over the place genre-wise lately: Philosophy, physics, jazz, mathematics.
I’ve been leaning into subjects that get me out of my comfort zone.
And while these topics are great mental exercise on their own, I also search out what the author has to say about the act of writing and communication.
Because, after all:
What good is a brilliant idea if you can’t share it with others?
That's done through a medium of communication, and most often it’s in the form of the written word.
My theory, then, was that these folks were onto something when it comes to explaining their ideas (and I wanted to know about it!)
So maybe you’ll be as surprised as I was when I discovered a common theme.
Take a look:
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” -Albert Einstein, physicist
“One should use common words to say uncommon things.” -Albert Schopenhauer, German philosopher
“It’s my ambition to say in 10 sentences what others say in a whole book.” -Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher
“If you hear yourself saying, ‘I think I understand this,’ it means you don’t.” -Richard Feynman, physicist
Interesting, right? These deep thinkers—who work with extremely complex ideas and theorems the average person can’t understand—are proponents of simple, concise writing and communication.
Coming from the tech/marketing world where jargon abounds and purposely speaking over other peoples’ heads is a common occurrence, I thought: Hallelujah.
So I dug a little deeper. Along the way, I discovered this technique (shared by Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman) that lays out the step-by-step mechanics of how to communicate simply and clearly for maximum comprehension.
The Feynman Technique
Step 1: Pick and study a topic.
Step 2: Explain the topic to someone like a child who is unfamiliar with the topic (and at their level of understanding.) Use simple language.
Step 3: Identify any gaps in your understanding.
Step 4: Return to the literature to understand better.
Not so hard, right?
I recognized this process as the same one used by the best editors I know. They didn’t just check for spelling/grammar and make suggestions on how to improve the flow of my writing. Instead, they poked holes in it.
They highlighted sections and asked, “Okay, but why?”
They left notes like: “Explain what this is and how it works. Don’t assume the reader already knows.”
As a result of those suggestions, my writing was able to go deeper, became more valuable to the reader, and was easier to follow. In short, it was better. Those are the pieces of content that still get shared today (years after they were first published.)
Eventually, I learned how to self-edit with that same editorial approach. You can, too.
The secret is to approach what you’ve written with a sense of genuine curiosity.
Try to review it with the eyes of an outsider. See what questions naturally arise as you read...and then answer them. Ask yourself: “How would I explain this to a 12-year-old?”
In a world where knowledge-flexing, acronym-dropping, and overcomplication is the norm: Don’t do it. Resist that urge.
This quote from author James Clear sums things up nicely:
“The highest level of mastery is simplicity. Most information is irrelevant and most effort is wasted. Only the expert knows what to ignore.”
P.S. In case you missed it, here's the WFH product guide I put together (some great gift ideas in there!)