Whether it’s at home, with friends or in the office, we all have those times where we have something we passionately want to say; then, when you try to say it, the words sometimes come out like verbal vomit. It’s frustrating for both you and the person you’re trying to communicate with, and it’s especially common when dealing with a complex subject. So how do you avoid the verbal barf scenario and get to a point of mutual understanding instead? Here are four tips I’ve found success with.

Clarity over Accuracy

When your understanding of a topic is more in-depth than your audience, it can be really tempting to try and spit out details in as accurate a manner as possible. Rather than prioritizing accuracy though, it can be helpful to focus instead on prioritizing clarity.

Without clarity, there is no understanding. If that means you need to simplify things to the point where it’s not perfect, but more-or-less accurate, that’s a trade I’d make any day of the week. In fact, I leaned heavily on this approach in last week’s post on probate.

Use Metaphors to Convey Meaning

I often take this one for granted, because I see the world through metaphors – it’s how I make sense of things, and so I tend to speak in metaphors more often than not. Speaking in metaphors may not come naturally to you, but understanding them probably does.

What’s easier to understand, this statement:

• We need to prioritize scale over efficiency, so increase the promotional budget by 50% even if it means decreasing our per-unit profitability. Ultimately we’ll still come out ahead on our overall P&L, even if it means a higher CPA.

Or this one:

• We’ve picked all the low-hanging fruit on the tree, so it’s time to climb a little higher, because we still need more apples. Yes, the higher ones are a little more work, but they’ll help us fill the basket.

I’ll let you decide.

Focus on the “One Thing”

This comes back to overdoing it when we understand something thoroughly. Rather than try and share everything you know about the subject, try to focus on the one thing; in other words, if the person were to remember one thing about the subject, what is it that you’d want them to take away? From there, it becomes easier to focus your efforts.

Minimize Technical Jargon

If you’re not in business, you probably didn’t understand what I meant in my first point when I said things like “P&L” and “CPA.” If that’s you, don’t worry about it. I wasn’t following this advice when I put those terms in there.

I might know that “P&L” stands for “Profit & Loss,” and that “CPA” stands for “Cost per Acquisition,” but if my audience doesn’t, then I have no business using those terms unless they’re absolutely critical to people’s understanding of the subject (spoiler alert: they’re usually not).

You might take for granted all of the jargon you use when you’re speaking about a subject that you understand deeply; that’s why it’s so important to be conscious about removing it from your vocabulary when communicating with someone who doesn’t share your level of understanding. I’m continuously amazed by how much people (myself included) seem to struggle with this concept.

Wrapping it Up

Einstein famously said that “if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” He was right, but explaining it simply becomes much easier to do if you have a framework in mind to work with. By following the tips in this post, you’ll hopefully get yourself one step closer to more effective communication when you happen to be the expert in the room!