Monday, January 21, 2013

Review of THE ART OF EXPLANATION by Lee LeFever



Photo Credit: Wiley

Rating: 5 out of 5

THE ART OF EXPLANATION by Lee LeFever is a book that I got really excited about because it tackles the subject of explanation and the need to explain things so that people understand and are moved to action. A few years ago I started to get the sense about the need for better explanations when I noticed that convincing people to take action on something important didn’t seem to produce the desired action. I sensed it was because our explanations didn’t create any motivation for taking action.

LeFever explains it perfectly in THE ART OF EXPLANATION. Explanations that help people understand and cause them to care start with why, or as he says, the forest before the trees. LeFever spends considerable time walking us through the types of explanations that cause people to care about what you’re explaining. He explains his process that he uses for the video explanation production company he founded Common Craft. There are even video examples you can look at.

With helpful visual illustrations, packaging tips, and tips for presenting your explanations, I would have to say THE ART OF EXPLANATION is one of the most practically beneficial books I’ve read when it comes to communicating ideas.

Review copy provided by Wiley Books

1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for the review Tom! Glad you liked the book!

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