[jakamau]

> 1. Think in billboards (Construct your explanation in less than 16 words)

> 3. Hold off. Don’t speak just yet. Seek to compact your explanation.

These have always been the most important/challenging parts of explaining a topic for myself. If I am struggling, I'll take a few moments and ask myself three questions.

1. What am I trying to explain? (What is in-scope)

2. What am I not trying to explain? (What is out-of-scope? "We can come back to that later if you're interested")

3. How would they explain this topic to me? (What is the language the audience would use?)

[hhs]

Hi jakamau, I especially like your second question of "What am I not trying to explain?" This is good to think about because sometimes we pack too many things in our explanations, which may not only confuse the audience but may also dilute the point.

This reminds me of Michael Porter's note on strategy: "the essence of strategy is choosing what not to do."