Liv suggested a written version of a couple of rants I've often delivered, on how to explain things. I've little experience teaching, never formally, but when I can I really enjoy explaining things to people who are as intelligent as I am and really get them.
Here's a grab-bag of different thoughts.
Motivation
It's really easy to forget it may not be obvious why you're explaining something. Most people have some natural curiosity, or even if they don't care, are willing to follow your instructions. Sometimes this happens automatically, eg. "someone says how can I do X" or "why is X" (and explaining when you don't need to is often just clutter). If you ask yourself "do I need to explain why", it's usually obvious whether you do or not. But it's easy to forget to ask.
And, as with step two, explaining why doesn't just mean saying why, but confirming that they get it and are onboard with it. If they are, this is often over in less than a sentence each way! But sometimes it isn't.
( Read more... )
Here's a grab-bag of different thoughts.
Motivation
It's really easy to forget it may not be obvious why you're explaining something. Most people have some natural curiosity, or even if they don't care, are willing to follow your instructions. Sometimes this happens automatically, eg. "someone says how can I do X" or "why is X" (and explaining when you don't need to is often just clutter). If you ask yourself "do I need to explain why", it's usually obvious whether you do or not. But it's easy to forget to ask.
And, as with step two, explaining why doesn't just mean saying why, but confirming that they get it and are onboard with it. If they are, this is often over in less than a sentence each way! But sometimes it isn't.
( Read more... )