The Art of Explanation

by Ros Atkins

Explanation - conveying meaning - is an art. And the BBC presenter and journalist Ros Atkins, creator of the viral 'Ros Atkins on...' explainer videos, is something of a master of the form. In this book, Ros shares the secrets he has learned from years of working in high-pressure newsrooms, identifying the ten elements of a good explanation and the seven steps you need to take to express yourself as persuasively and accurately as possible.

Whether you need to articulate your thoughts clearly for business, educational or social purposes, The Art of Explanation is a must-read for anyone who wants to improve their communication skills.

Genres: Nonfiction, Communication, Self Help, Business, Personal Development, Psychology, Writing

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 14, 2023

About the author

Ros Atkins is the presenter of Outside Source on BBC News, and also presents the Media Show on BBC Radio 4. He and his team produce viral explainer videos on topical news stories which have been praised for their effectiveness as a news format. Ros also founded the BBC's 50:50 Project which aimed to achieve greater gender representation in teams across the broadcaster, an initiative which has been replicated in organisations worldwide.

Reviews

[Wing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a manual for those who need to do presentations perennially. Put it simply: know your stuff; make sure you understand what you’re talking about; make sure the addressees have enough, but only just enough, contextual and background information; capture and sustain their attention; polish your words and keep things succinct; keep rehearsing; be prepared for predictable questions. There’s no shortcut. At close to 300 pages it’s long and repetitive. However, it’s decidedly and unapologetically so. The aim is to forge a reflexive system that can be used again and again. Atkins has distilled his trials and errors, travails and triumphs, so as to save readers from doing their own experiments. The book quotes almost no studies and is mainly based on his own experiences. I am a clinician and have been a lecturer. Delivering information and explaining things are my bread and butter. Yet I have learnt new things from this book. I am pretty sure I’ll incorporate some of them into my work. Four stars.

[Pretentia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find it pretty funny that a book about explanations has such a poor explanation of what it is. This a book about how to prepare for presentations or papers. As that it has a lot of useful advice. It is very verbose and boring, and I found it hard to get through. It isn't what I thought it was which was fine, but it also didn't hold interest.

[Georgi 🌸 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book, and I already mentioned it to a few people. I feel like many people should read or listen to this book, this would help them a lot (especially a few of the people I'm working with).

I listened to the audiobook version of the book and I was surprised to see that the narrator was no one else, but the author himself, which made the experience of listening even more interesting.

Also, I'm interested in buying a hard copy of this book when it comes out. I have a feeling it might help me in the future and I guess having a hard copy, going through it and highlighting the important bits would be nice and easy to remember the advice from this book.

Lastly, I would like to thank NetGalley, the author and the publisher for offering me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Ashiish V Patil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive. Bit obvious.

[Agnė V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gera praktinių patarimų knyga, pirksiu spausdintinę versiją, kad būtų po ranka.
Ypač gera rašantiems ar kalbantiems, klausiau ir galvojau kiek mūsų žurnalistai galėtų iš šios knygos pasimokyti

[Sebastian Gebski · Rating 2 out of 5]

(disclaimer: I listed to audiobook, maybe the printed/e-ink version is at least partially saved by good visual explanation - diagrams, graphs and such)

Oh, such a wonderful topic! Oh, ... and such a wasted opportunity.

The best thing about this book is ... its table of contents. In general, all the sections (chapters) make sense, and they are really important, but if you expect meaty details and actionable, practical suggestions - look elsewhere. The author plays the role of Cpt. Obvious and fails to deliver. The best example is the "Organise the Information" chapter, which is like an Achilles heel for 80% of people who work with knowledge management that I know - did I learn anything from this chapter? Not really. To be frank - I don't even remember anything out of it already!

Bah, I can't believe I wasted my money on this - contrary to many other books I review, this one didn't come as a part of a subscription or a gift. Not recommended :(

[Megan Ratcliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dipped in and out of this all year and would say this book is relevant for every profession - not just Comms folk! I especially liked the part at the end, focusing on how to write a clear and concise email. This will definitely be a book that I revisit!

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great suggestions in this book for communicating in a world where there is a deluge of information and no one has time to take it all in.
Covers every medium - from speaking to writing to email - in an easy to remember way.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed, informative, helpful book about how to improve your communication skills. I found it easy to understand, easy to implement the tips, entertaining to listen to. Highly recommended

[Jonathan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way Ross Atkins does his explainer videos. And so, I was eager to read this book.

This is a great insight into how to organise information and communicate it effectively. You could use this for writing, teaching, job interviews, exam revisions, and emails.

The book is full of clear steps, nuggets of advice, and illuminating examples.

The last chapter on writing emails needs to be read by everyone!

[Lunar Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a detailed and informative read that provided clear and easy-to-use examples on what the author was talking about. After I read this I had started noticing and using these methods everywhere and I must say that this book really helps me.

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of good information in this book, but I feel like it's more suited to someone who has a particular project in mind (writing a book, essay etc.) rather than general advice. In saying that, I think it will make me be more aware of what I'm saying and how it will come across. I also liked how Ros incorporated anecdotes, but wish there was more of them as the book at times felt a bit too technical.

[Vineta Afanasjeva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t gain much value from this book. The tips provided felt quite obvious, and the content seemed stretched, with repetitive information, blank spaces, and unnecessarily large text. However, I did appreciate the section on Questions—it seemed insightful to me.

[Matthew Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing revolutionary, but I suppose that’s the point. Most useful for work things - will turn some of the ideas into a checklist

[JCS · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful and informative guide to improving the way we explain things. The author, a BBC presenter and journalist, gives many examples of ways to make information more succinct, easier to understand and more interesting for the listener/ reader. I can imagine many who would feel more confident presenting information after taking advice from this book. Thank you to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Servane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I needed.

[Laurie Mercer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent manual for wiring and presenting. I'm a sales engineer and regularly write and present on technical topics related to Cybersecurity. This is the best I have read on the subject of writing good explanations, and has been immediately practical. I'm using this pretty regularly when planning presentations, emails, menos and white papers.

[Jonasz The brown eyed demon Szponder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful guide for anyone wanting to improve their communication skills, particularly for written kinds of communication. So if you're needing to write an essay, dissertation, email or any other form of an important professional document. This walkthrough to reach a perfect explanation is certainly one way of getting there. This book emphasizes the fact that clear articulation is a faculty of immense importance and can be a deciding factor or make all the difference in many important events that we'll face in life.

[Heidi Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astonishingly well written book which unsurprisingly explains how to explain brilliantly. Not only helpful this book is entertainingly written. The descriptions of where it had gone wrong for him in the best helped me feel less rubbish!

[Jamie Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

BBC’s Ros Atkins is an excellent communicator of the complicated, making it simple and digestible. This book takes his learning from developing those skills to sharing them in this book. A must read for anyone in business or anyone studying and having to write dissertations etc.

[Mel French · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide, helpful to anyone wishing to improve their communication skills.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book works best if you have some examples you want to work through. Good reference book to return to.

[Ben Butterworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suspect this book will change my life.

[Ilia Markov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good framework on how to explain/interview/etc.

[Michael Muntisov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explanations are relevant to many aspects of our lives. Think of business presentations, writing essays, interacting with your doctor, job interviews, writing emails, talking to your tradesman and the list goes on.
If done well, explanations can inform, get things done and save you and others lots of time. Good explainers are engaging not just informative. But it’s not so simple. We have all seen ineffective explanations, as well as being guilty of many ourselves.
BBC presenter Ros Atkins undoubtedly produces some of the best explainer videos going around. In his new book The Art of Explanation, Atkins shares his methodical, seven-step approach.
Step One: Set up. This mainly involves understanding your audience. To do this he asks five questions: Who am I addressing? What do they know or would like to know? How do they want to receive the information? How to make it personal for them? And how to be credible to them?
Step Two: Find the Information. This is where the research starts. You are guided by asking yourself what the audience will want answered. You will end up with a pile of information and a list of what you yourself don’t understand or want to understand better.
Step Three: Distil the Information. Here you sweep through the information collected and check it against relevance, always reminding yourself of the purpose and your audience.
Step Four: Organise the Information. In this step you organise the information into strands that address the questions you are trying to answer. You start to consider how these strands might be built into a narrative or sequence. You also consider what visual elements could clarify the explanation.
Step Five: Link the Information. This is where you create a cohesive story, and Atkins provides plenty of techniques to help you maintain interest, cohesiveness and momentum.
Step Six: Tighten. In the editing phase you ruthlessly discard elements that do not contribute to your objective, you refine your story, and get feedback on what you’ve done to date.
Step Seven: Delivery. Finally, Atkins provides plenty of advice on how to rehearse, whether to memorise or not, how to use visuals and some seemingly mundane checks that can make the difference between success and failure.
One imagines that the first and last steps are the most consequential to the overall success of the explanation’s delivery. The intermediate steps will govern its quality.
Atkins goes on to adapt these steps for dynamic situations such as interviews and Q&A panels or live reports. The essence is similar but more emphasis is placed on memorising strands of information on the topics that are likely to come up, or key messages you wish to deliver.
Finally there is a section on “Quick Explanations”. These are quick discussions or emails. Think of a visit to your doctor, or sending an email message to a group. Here Atkins draws on the work of Rogers and Lanky-Fink which I have reviewed previously, and which boil down to keeping messages short, easy to read, tailored to the audience and importantly, easy to respond to.
In many ways Atkins proves that explanation is an ‘art’ because some of his steps are as dry to read as is reading about the minutiae and innermost thoughts of an artist as they apply each of their strokes to a painting. It means a lot to them, but is much more abstract for the reader.
For all the steps, tips and tricks provided in Atkins book, it fails to meet some of Atkins’ own criteria for what constitutes a good explanation. In particular, of his ten attributes of a good explanation, it falls short on “Essential Detail”, “Efficiency”, “Precision”, and “No Distractions”. On the other hand it more than achieves “Useful” and “Clarity of Purpose”.
Given these achievements, the book is recommended as a reference source to draw on whenever you have an important explanation to give. And the more you use the techniques, the better you’ll become.
More generally, The Art of Explanation provides an insight into how much work Atkins and his team put into their ‘explainers’, and into Atkins’ drive, one might say obsession, for good explanations.

[Megan Hsia]

“Here are 7 Lessons From Ros Atkins's book "The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence"

1. Audience Awareness:
Understanding your audience is key to crafting an effective explanation. It's not just about their existing knowledge of the topic. Consider their age, background, expectations, and potential biases. Tailor your language and complexity to their level, pique their interest by highlighting why the topic matters to them, and acknowledge any preconceived notions they might hold to build a stronger foundation for your explanation.

2. Information Gathering: Not Just Research
While research is crucial for a solid explanation, go beyond traditional methods. Consider incorporating your personal experiences with the topic, seek insights from experts directly involved, and explore opposing viewpoints to build a well-rounded understanding and address potential challenges in your explanation.

3. Prioritization and Clarity
The art of distillation lies in extracting the most crucial points and discarding unnecessary details. Identify the core message you want to convey, prioritize supporting points based on their relevance, and use real-world applications or examples to illustrate complex ideas and ensure clarity.

4. Structure for Understanding
Logical flow is the structure that guides your audience's understanding. Think of it as building blocks. Use chronological order for sequential processes, explain cause and effect relationships to show connections, or frame your explanation around a central problem and its solution to create a clear path for your audience to follow.

5. Connecting the Dots: Weaving a Cohesive Narrative
Don't just present facts in isolation. Weave a cohesive narrative by using transitions and clear signposts to guide your audience through the connections being made. Summarize key points regularly to reinforce understanding and show progress throughout your explanation.

6. Conciseness is King: Editing for Impact
A tight and concise explanation delivers a stronger punch. Eliminate redundancy by avoiding repetitive phrasing, vary your sentence structure to keep your audience engaged, and use active voice for a more impactful message.

7. Confident Delivery:
Confidence in your explanation goes beyond your words. Maintain good posture and eye contact to project assuredness, modulate your tone to emphasize key points and avoid monotony, and practice your explanation beforehand to feel comfortable and polished.

BOOK: https://amzn.to/3WPGz14

You can also get the AUDIO BOOK for FREE using the same link. Use the link to register for the AUDIO BOOK on Audible and start enjoying it.”

[Via · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bab 2: Kenali Audiens Anda (Ringkasan)

Pengetahuan tentang audiens adalah kunci utama dalam menjelaskan informasi dengan baik. Seseorang yang menjalankan bisnis tentu memahami siapa pelanggannya. Jika Anda membuat acara televisi, Anda tahu siapa pemirsa yang ditargetkan. Namun, dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, kita sering kali tidak mempertimbangkan siapa yang menjadi target dari penjelasan kita.

Ros Atkins menekankan pentingnya mengidentifikasi audiens dengan cara yang sama seperti kita mempelajari pasar untuk sebuah produk. Semakin banyak yang kita ketahui tentang audiens, semakin baik kita bisa menyesuaikan pesan dan cara penyampaian kita. Ini membantu kita mencapai komunikasi yang efektif dan berdampak.

Lima Pertanyaan Penting untuk Memahami Audiens:

1. Siapa target audiens?

Ketahui siapa yang akan Anda ajak bicara atau sampaikan pesan. Misalnya, jika Anda berbicara di sebuah konferensi, cari tahu siapa delegasi yang hadir. Jika Anda menulis email, kenali penerima dan alasan mereka menerima pesan tersebut.



2. Apa yang audiens ketahui dan ingin mereka ketahui?

Lakukan penilaian awal tentang pengetahuan audiens mengenai topik yang akan dijelaskan. Hal ini membantu Anda menyesuaikan tingkat detail penjelasan. Jika audiens sangat beragam, lakukan upaya tambahan untuk mengajukan pertanyaan saat pertemuan atau presentasi untuk mendapatkan pemahaman yang lebih baik.



3. Bagaimana mereka suka menerima informasi?

Mengetahui preferensi audiens dalam menerima informasi akan meningkatkan peluang pesan Anda dipahami. Jika Anda berbicara dengan audiens yang lebih visual, tambahkan elemen grafis atau presentasi untuk mendukung penjelasan.



4. Bagaimana cara membuat pesan lebih personal?

Membuat audiens merasa bahwa informasi yang disampaikan ditujukan secara khusus kepada mereka adalah salah satu cara paling efektif untuk mendapatkan perhatian. Sesuaikan pesan untuk membuat audiens merasa dilibatkan secara langsung.



5. Apakah Anda memiliki kredibilitas di mata audiens?

Jika audiens tidak yakin dengan kredibilitas Anda, mereka akan lebih sulit menerima pesan yang Anda sampaikan. Tingkatkan kredibilitas Anda dengan menyampaikan informasi yang relevan, akurat, dan menggunakan bahasa yang tepat untuk situasi tertentu.




Dengan memahami audiens dan menyesuaikan penjelasan berdasarkan preferensi dan kebutuhan mereka, Anda dapat menciptakan komunikasi yang lebih efektif dan mendapatkan hasil yang diinginkan.

[Harshal Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book twice because it was filled with valuable insights. I loved the author's approach to applying frameworks, structuring content, and sharing examples for every technique. For example, there is one technique to connect one topic to another. Another technique to deviate from the question to the answer you want to give. This reminded me of the communications course in my MBA, which I also loved. Seeing the coherent ideas between the MBA course from professional experts and this author from journalism was great.

One challenge I faced with this book was the numerous techniques listed one after another across chapters. I was wondering what the next smallest change I could make was and for which type of communication. For example, if I write an email tomorrow, which chapter should I keep in mind? Or, if I have a presentation four months from now, how do I use the information I read today? I will look for some handouts from this book.

I loved hearing about the author's journey in journalism, radio broadcasting, and more, where he shared techniques he learned along the way. I liked how the BBC has a team to train journalists. I loved the example where his earphones were cracked, but he still found a way to broadcast news.

Clearly, he was proud of his accomplishment of launching a new video series. Although I learned from his steps, I haven't heard of or seen those videos.

I rate the impact of this book 4 out of 5 because it provides a lot of information on the art of explanation, which I should ideally use in my blog posts, presentations, and emails. but not 5/5 because I'm struggling to use it immediately.

[Kristoffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+ stars. I picked this up in an airport bookshop as potentially interesting and useful to read while travelling. Ros Atkins is behind the BBC's explainer videos and as such the book is an idiosyncratic account of Atkins' trial and error and experience over decades of perfecting his practised art of explanatory communication. It provides a seven step process for preparing and delivering explanations in written form or as presentations, verbally on the go, or in email communication. It is a decent but incomplete approach. For four stars the book should have practised what it preaches in step 3 Distil the information and step 7 Tighten, and I find it strange that the author and editor didn't make a greater effort to make the book shorter and more engaging. At over 300 pages it is over long for the information provided. Some example anecdotes do not work very well as explanations themselves and one (resting on piano chords of which the reader may have no knowledge) not at all. For five stars the book should have included more than the scant references to other practitioners and scholars of communication and explanation. That a surprised Atkins only picks up the concept of "chunking" information from another pop-sci book is strange indeed. It is quite okay that the book reflects Atkins' own knowledge on the subject but then again that is only one view. Next I will be looking for a book by an author with long experience, but who has also reviewed others' best practice as well as recent science.

[Robert Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most informative and useful writing on communicating both for speaking and writing. I must even be careful on writing this report; it reflects what I have learned. I only wish that I had read this during my time of employment. The words of the subtitle hit the mark, “How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence.”

Ros Atkins, sums up his message on “Ex-plan-ation” with a quote from his colleague, Allan Little, “It’s like cleaning a window. You can see through a dirty window but if you clean the window, you can see so much better.”

Then agreeing Atkin adds, “…this is what the book is about and it is why explanation matters. We can all get by without paying attention to how we communicate, but when we do pay attention, the possibilities open up in front of us. ‘Cleaning the window’ means we see out and the world sees in. Once you start doing it, there’s no going back.”

And as the author has expressed, I have found that “There is a thrill to doing explanation well. In part, from the sense of achievement in taming complexities, of finding a way to handle and shape information in unpredictable environments. In part, for the shear joy of getting to the essence of something, of knowing this is what you want and mean to say. This is how you say it…”

This is all given to the reader from an acclaimed BBC journalist with a history of explanation experience at the highest level. Here the reader receives all his secrets of success in communication. If you are in a position of leadership in any area of responsibility you need this book!