Do you struggle to get your point across clearly when explaining complex ideas? Are your presentations and conversations leaving people more confused than clear?
Ros Atkins’s The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate With Clarity and Confidence reveals the code to effective communication. The BBC journalist’s seven-step method transforms muddy messages into crystal-clear insights that actually stick with your audience.
Continue reading to discover how to master the skill that separates great communicators from the rest.
Overview of Ros Atkins’s The Art of Explanation
Ros Atkins’s The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate With Clarity and Confidence (2023) presents a systematic approach to crafting explanations that help audiences understand and engage with information, whether in professional presentations, media broadcasts, or everyday conversations. Atkins contends that, in a world overflowing with information, the ability to explain an idea effectively has become increasingly valuable. Clear explanations are essential for effective communication, learning, decision-making, and problem-solving across all domains of life.
Atkins developed his approach to explaining ideas during his undergraduate studies at Cambridge University, where he faced the challenge of quickly mastering complex historical topics and crafting coherent arguments under tight deadlines. Later, as a journalist, he refined this system to help him report on complicated news stories. His methodology came into public focus through his viral BBC “explainer” videos, which break down complex current events into concise segments.
Our overview of The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate With Clarity and Confidence breaks down Atkins’s approach into four sections: the foundations of effective explanation, understanding your audience, the complete explanation framework, and mastering explanation across different contexts.
What Makes an Effective Explanation?
While some people seem naturally gifted at breaking down complex ideas, Atkins argues that clear explanation is a skill anyone can develop with the right approach and consistent practice. At its core, explanation is the process of making something clear by describing it in detail or revealing relevant facts. But not all explanations are created equal. Effective explanation goes beyond simply sharing information—it transforms that information into understanding.
According to Atkins, a good explanation begins with absolute clarity about what you’re trying to communicate. When you know what you need to convey, you can express ideas in straightforward language without sacrificing depth or nuance. Effective explanations also strike a delicate balance: They embrace complexity without becoming complicated. By thoroughly understanding your subject matter—even the aspects you might not include in your explanation—you can distinguish between essential and peripheral information. Atkins argues this helps you express your ideas precisely, leaving out anything that might distract from your core message.
Atkins contends that the best explanations also create a meaningful connection with the audience. They provide enough context to help listeners understand why the information matters to them, and they keep people engaged through careful pacing, varied delivery, and strategic examples. Most importantly, they address the audience’s actual questions and needs rather than presumed ones. Atkins notes that when an explanation works well, the audience doesn’t notice clever techniques or marvel at your knowledge. Instead, they just understand the concept you’re conveying. This is the true measure of explanatory success: not how much you communicate, but how effectively your audience understands and can use what you’ve shared.
For example, consider how a marine biologist might explain blue whale migration to an audience at a natural history museum. She might start by providing the context behind why the whales undertake these journeys, pointing out that these creatures are enormous and must travel to find sufficient food. She could use precise language to describe their routes from tropical breeding grounds to polar feeding areas and compare the distances to something relatable: “They travel roughly the distance from New York to London each way.” To explain timing, she might focus on the essential relationship between whale migration and seasonal plankton blooms. Throughout, she anticipates common questions, like “How do they navigate?”
Why Explanation Matters Now More Than Ever
Atkins notes that as we go about our days, we’re constantly bombarded with information from countless sources. The challenge isn’t accessing information—it’s making sense of it. Whether you’re a professional communicating with colleagues, a leader sharing a vision with your team, a teacher educating students, or just a person trying to have a meaningful conversation with friends, your ability to explain things effectively determines whether your message gets through.
Poor explanations lead to misunderstandings, confusion, wasted time, and missed opportunities for action. When you explain ineffectively, your audience might stop listening, misinterpret your message, fail to take appropriate action, lose confidence in your expertise, or make decisions with an incomplete understanding of the information available. But when you explain well, you create clarity that enables others to understand, engage, and act. You build trust and credibility, help people make better decisions, and increase the chances of achieving your goals.
Why You Have to Understand Your Audience Before You Start
Atkins contends that every aspect of your explanation should be specifically designed for the people receiving it. This means crafting each element of your explanation—from vocabulary and examples to structure and format—to match the needs, knowledge, and preferences of your audience. So, before you write a single sentence, Atkins insists you have to thoroughly understand whom you’re speaking to. This increases the likelihood that your audience will understand, remember, and act upon your message.
What does it mean to know your audience? According to Atkins, you need to understand three essential aspects of the people you’re addressing:
1) Who your audience members are as individuals or as a group. Consider their backgrounds, experiences, roles, and relationship to you. A technical explanation delivered to industry peers requires a different approach than one given to the general public or to senior executives who need quick insights for decision-making.
2) What your audience already knows about your topic. Assessing what your audience already knows helps you avoid overwhelming them with unfamiliar concepts or boring them with information they’re already familiar with. Understanding their current knowledge also helps you identify and address misconceptions that might interfere with comprehension. Atkins notes that sometimes what people think they know is more problematic than what they don’t.
3) How your audience prefers to receive information. Some respond best to visual representations, while others prefer narrative examples or straightforward data. Some have the time and interest for detailed explanations, while others need concise summaries. Gathering this audience information requires deliberate effort. When possible, research your audience beforehand by recalling previous interactions, through organizational information, or by talking to others who know them well. If you’ll be explaining something to a group regularly, consider asking them directly about their preferences and knowledge level.
How to Craft a Clear Explanation
Once you understand your audience, you can apply Atkins’s systematic process for creating explanations that are clear, engaging, and effective. His seven-step framework transforms the often chaotic task of explanation into a structured methodology that consistently produces high-quality results, whether you’re writing a simple email or planning an elaborate presentation.
Step 1: Articulate Your Purpose
Before you gather any information for your explanation, Atkins recommends clarifying exactly what you’re trying to accomplish. Ask yourself: What precisely am I trying to explain? What specific questions must my explanation answer? What do I want my audience to understand or be able to do afterward? Atkins notes that many people jump straight into gathering information without establishing these parameters, leading to unfocused explanations. By spending just 10 minutes defining your purpose, you create a clear target that guides all of your subsequent decisions, including how you’ll manage practical constraints like time limitations, format requirements, and audience expectations.
Step 2: Gather Your Information
With your purpose defined, gather enough information to understand the topic thoroughly, but focus on what serves your specific purpose. Atkins notes that at this stage, it helps to collect more information than you think you’ll need: Research the subject from multiple perspectives, identify key concepts and relationships, gather potential examples and analogies, and note any conflicting viewpoints. Don’t worry about organization yet; it’s better to have excess information that you can later refine than to miss crucial elements. As you collect information, identify any gaps in your understanding that you need to address—concepts you don’t fully grasp or areas where more evidence would strengthen your explanation.
Step 3: Extract the Key Points
Next, Atkins recommends refining your raw information into its most usable form through a two-sweep process. The first sweep assesses relevance: Go through all the information you’ve gathered and ask whether it directly helps accomplish your purpose. For information that passes this test, strip away unnecessary details and keep only the most important. Discard anything that doesn’t serve your purpose.
With your refined information, conduct a more rigorous second sweep, asking: Does this actively help achieve your purpose? Is this the most compelling example for your point? Would removing this significantly weaken your explanation? Atkins emphasizes that including non-essential information doesn’t just waste time—it actively distracts from your core message. Be ruthless. Finally, check for any remaining gaps. If you identify important concepts or questions that aren’t adequately addressed, return to Step 2 for targeted information gathering.
Step 4: Create a Logical Structure
With your essential information identified, Atkins recommends arranging it into a coherent structure that will guide your audience through the explanation. Begin by listing the main components or sections—the key topics and concepts you need to cover. Atkins suggests creating two additional categories: uncertain placement (information you’re not sure how to use yet) and high-impact information that might work well at the beginning or end.
Next, arrange your sections in the most logical order. Atkins suggests thinking about how you would explain the topic to a friend: Consider a chronological sequence, a problem-solution format, moving from general to specific, or showing cause and effect. The goal is to create a narrative flow that builds understanding progressively, with each section laying the groundwork for what follows. Once you’ve established the sequence, organize the individual pieces of information within each section, focusing on creating a logical progression. If you use visual elements, determine what visuals will support each section and how you’ll integrate them.
Step 5: Connect the Dots
After you’ve organized your information, Atkins recommends connecting your elements into a smooth explanation. Develop clear transitions that show the relationships between different pieces of information. Use signpost language to indicate where you’re going (“Next, we’ll examine…”), show connections between ideas (“This relates to our earlier point about…”), and explain why you’re moving to a new topic.
Write or outline your explanation following the structure you’ve created. Focus on clarity and precision, ensure each section flows logically from the previous one, and use examples strategically to illustrate complex concepts. If you get stuck, identify why: Are you unclear about what you want to say? Is there missing information? Is the order not quite right? Once you have a complete draft, review it from beginning to end to assess the overall flow. Does each point build naturally on what came before? Are there any logical gaps? Does the explanation point toward a clear conclusion? Make adjustments as needed to ensure a smooth progression.
Step 6: Refine for Clarity
Next, Atkins recommends polishing your explanation to make it as clear, precise, and efficient as possible. Review it sentence by sentence, looking for unclear statements, unnecessary jargon, overly complex sentences, or undefined terms that might be unfamiliar to your audience. Look for opportunities to make your explanation more concise by removing redundant information, combining related points, replacing lengthy descriptions with more efficient phrasing, and eliminating tangential details.
Atkins recommends paying special attention to your opening and conclusion. Does your introduction clearly establish what you’ll be explaining, and will it engage your audience? Does your conclusion effectively summarize the key points and leave your audience with a clear takeaway? Finally, evaluate your explanation against your original purpose. Have you answered all the questions identified in Step 1? Is the explanation appropriately tailored to your audience? Have you removed all distractions and non-essential elements?
Step 7: Prepare to Present Your Explanation
Finally, Atkins recommends thinking through how you’ll present your explanation, whether in writing, in person, or through other media. If you’ll be delivering it verbally, read it aloud to check that it sounds natural and authentic. Mark places where emphasis would help understanding, identify natural pauses, and note where to introduce visual elements. Create annotations for yourself, highlighting key transitions and points where you might need to adjust your delivery. Rehearse your explanation, focusing on clear articulation, natural pacing, smooth transitions, and effective use of visual elements. Consider potential challenges and how you’ll handle them, such as technical difficulties, time constraints, or unexpected questions.
How to Create an Explanation for Any Situation
Atkins’s explanation framework can be adapted to diverse settings. Whether you’re preparing a formal presentation, responding to questions in a meeting, or crafting a quick email, here’s how you can apply his core principles to communicate clearly and effectively.
Adapt Your Approach to the Communication Context
How you implement Atkins’s method depends on whether you’re preparing an explanation or responding dynamically. For prepared explanations—like presentations or educational materials—you can follow the seven-step framework. But dynamic explanations require a more flexible approach: In meetings, interviews, or conversations, you need to respond to questions and adapt to changing circumstances. For these situations, Atkins recommends organizing your information differently. Instead of creating a linear narrative, break your content into distinct topic areas that you can address in any order, based on what’s needed. Each topic area should contain no more than five key points for easier recall.
For example, if you were preparing to explain how to build a treehouse during a community workshop, you might organize your knowledge into separate topic areas: “Safety Considerations,” “Material Selection,” “Basic Structure,” “Weather Protection,” and “Creative Additions.” Within your “Material Selection” topic, you might memorize five key points: types of weather-resistant wood, appropriate fasteners, platform materials, roofing options, and eco-friendly alternatives. This organization allows you to jump directly to any relevant topic based on the questions you receive, rather than having to work through a fixed sequence.
Atkins recommends practicing each topic area separately and rehearsing smooth transitions between any two topics to develop the flexibility to respond to whatever direction the conversation takes. He also suggests committing key points to memory using techniques like mental imagery or acronyms. One practice method he advocates is to write topic headings on paper slips, draw one randomly, and explain that topic immediately—building your ability to access information quickly regardless of order. Most importantly, anticipate questions by creating and preparing for a comprehensive list. Even in dynamic situations, Atkins says that if you prepare well, you can typically predict 70-80% of the questions you’ll get.
Streamline Your Approach for Brief Communications
For everyday communications like emails and brief conversations, Atkins offers a streamlined approach based on realistic assumptions about how people consume information: They may not read it at all; if they do, they likely won’t read all of it; they’ll skim rather than read carefully; they’re looking for functional information; and if it doesn’t feel personally relevant, they’ll disengage. Given these realities, put your main point or request in the first sentence and use a subject line that clearly communicates your purpose. Format for skimmability, with short paragraphs, bullet points for multiple items, and visual emphasis on key information.
Atkins also recommends making it easy for the recipient to respond to an email or memo by being specific about what you need and providing clear options rather than open-ended questions. Always personalize your message by referencing relevant context and tailoring details to the recipient’s specific needs. Atkins notes that poorly crafted communications force people to work harder than necessary to extract essential information. Crafting a clear and efficient message shows you respect the recipient’s time.
Embrace Continuous Improvement Through Iteration
You can develop your explanation skills through deliberate practice and refinement. Atkins emphasizes viewing explanation as an iterative process: Each attempt gives you an opportunity to improve. For important explanations, plan for multiple drafts. Create an initial version focused on getting your ideas down, then critically evaluate it for logical gaps, unclear sections, and potential confusion. Make deliberate improvements in subsequent versions, continuing until you’ve achieved the clarity and impact you seek.
Atkins explains that seeking external feedback is invaluable for this improvement process. Ask others specific questions about your explanations: Was anything unclear? Did it answer your questions? Were there logical jumps? Did the organization make sense? When possible, test your explanations with members of your intended audience and observe their responses. You can use this feedback to identify patterns in your explanation style. Perhaps you consistently overlook certain types of information, rely too heavily on jargon, or struggle with particular transitions. Recognizing patterns allows you to address them thoughtfully.
Develop an Explanation Mindset
Beyond specific techniques, Atkins encourages cultivating an “explanation mindset” that prioritizes clarity and understanding in all communications. He states that when you have an explanation mindset, your primary goal is understanding. This mindset ultimately transforms not just how you communicate but also how you think, because the process of crafting clear explanations forces you to understand topics more deeply. The skills you develop—identifying essential information, organizing ideas logically, and expressing concepts precisely—enhance your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
This mindset also changes how you approach the explanation process: You recognize that effective explanations rarely happen spontaneously but require thoughtful preparation. Similarly, your perspective on audience response transforms. Rather than seeing questions and confusion as signs of failure, you welcome them as feedback that helps you refine your approach. This openness to improvement becomes integral to how you think about explanation—not as a one-time performance but as an ongoing dialogue aimed at deepening understanding.
