Strategies for Explaining Complex Ideas

Checklist

• Use analogies that link concepts to something familiar.
• Define terms in several ways.
• Simplify terminology when possible.

When explaining a process or structure, do the above and:

• Use presentation aids, such as models, drawings.

When explaining a counterintuitive idea, do the above and:

• Address the commonly-held assumption first.
• Acknowledge its plausibility.
• Demonstrate its limitations using familiar examples.