Adapt to Your Audience and Check Understanding

There is no good explanation "in the absolute": there are only explanations well calibrated for a given audience. The same idea is told differently to a child, to an expert in another field, or to a busy decision-maker. To popularize is above all to put yourself in the other person's place — then check that you aimed right.

Start from what the other person already knows

The ability to picture what someone else thinks and knows has a name in psychology: theory of mind. It is the direct antidote to the curse of knowledge. Before explaining, ask yourself three questions: what does my listener already know? what do they want to do with it? how much time and attention do they have?

"Know who you're talking to before you decide what to say."

The explanation that works builds on the anchor point closest at hand in the other person's mind. To a cook, you explain an algorithm via a recipe; to an accountant, via a balance sheet. The content is the same; the bridge changes.

The ladder of abstraction

Linguist S. I. Hayakawa popularized the idea of the ladder of abstraction: any subject can be described at different levels, from the very concrete ("this dog, Rex") to the very abstract ("a living being," "an asset"). A good explainer climbs up and down this ladder at will: down toward the concrete example when the listener disengages, up toward the general principle once they've grasped it.

Tell, don't list

The human brain is wired for stories long before lists of facts. A story provides a thread, characters, tension — all of them memory hooks. To clarify an abstract concept, turn it into a mini-narrative: "Imagine a customer who…" sets a concrete stage where the idea becomes observable. This is the final "S" of SUCCESs (Stories) seen in the previous chapter.

Verify, don't assume

The fatal mistake is to believe you've been understood. Install verification loops:

• Have the other person rephrase: "Just to be sure I was clear, how would you put it?" (the burden of proof on yourself, never "did you understand?" which reveals nothing).
• Read the weak signals: a frozen gaze, an off-topic question, a hesitant "hmm" signal disengagement.
• Proceed in small steps: one idea, one check, the next idea — rather than a long monologue followed by a late "any questions?"

flowchart LR
    A[One idea] --> B[Check:<br/>rephrasing or example]
    B --> C{Understood?}
    C -->|Yes| D[Next idea]
    C -->|No| E[Step back down the ladder:<br/>a more concrete example]
    E --> B

Say this / don't say that

• Don't say: "Do you understand?" (invites a polite "yes" that proves nothing)
• Say: "How would you explain it to a colleague who wasn't here?" (rephrasing reveals what actually got through)

Practical exercise

Prepare the same explanation in three versions: for a 10-year-old, for a colleague in another department, for your leadership in 30 seconds. Note what changes: the anchor point, the level on the ladder of abstraction, the examples. Same knowledge, three different bridges.

Summary

Adapting means mobilizing your theory of mind: start from what the other knows, wants and can absorb. Hayakawa's ladder of abstraction invites you to go down to the concrete or up to the principle depending on reactions. Stories offer memory hooks that lists lack. Above all, never assume understanding: have people rephrase, read the weak signals, and advance in small, verified steps. An explanation succeeds only when it has reached its target — not when it has been spoken.