Explain it to a Six Year Old

"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself" ~Albert Einstein

This makes perfect sense. Have you ever sat down with a child and tried to explain something to them. You think you can explain it to anyone, but then you find that you can't find the words to make it understandable to someone who doesn't have an extended vocabulary.

I think this is how most self help gurus write their books. You should try this with something you know a lot about. Sit down and start writing. Split what you are trying to teach into sections. You want something that is separated into bite sized chunks. You want your six year old to be able to go away everyday with a small part of what you are teaching.

Now start writing each section as if you are trying to explain it to a child. Use small words. Don't try to expand on anything in exhaustive detail. Try to remember that the people you are trying to teach probably don't have any experience in what you know about. That means the parts you take for granted, they know nothing about.

When you are done, try your teaching on someone else. They don't have to be six years old. They just have to know very little about what you are teaching. When you do this, you will find out some of the things you left out. You will notice their face when you say something that does not make sense to them. Those are you ques to make changes to your teaching.

The interesting thing about putting together this teaching, you will learn so much more about what you are trying to teach. You will be surprised at what you have learned yourself.