People nod and do not understand
You see the polite face and know it did not land.
Courses
See what you would learn
Explain an idea to someone who does not share your background.
A course on explanation. It covers finding out where the other person is starting from, choosing what to leave out, and building an idea in the order a listener can follow rather than the order you learned it.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I want to explain ideas clearly to people who do not share my background. I lose them in detail or skip the step they needed, and I want to know where to start and what to leave out.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
- Best for
- Communication
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- Who do you most need to explain things to: colleagues outside your field, customers, family, or students?
- Do you lose people in detail, or skip the step they needed?
- Is there a specific thing you keep failing to explain?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
You start in the middle
Years of context make the beginning invisible to you.
Detail is your comfort
You add precision when the listener needed a picture.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06The curse of knowledge
Why experts explain badly, and what it takes to see your subject fresh.
Where are they starting
Questions that reveal what the listener knows, and adjusting on the fly.
The one idea
Deciding what this explanation is for, and what can wait.
Order
Concrete before abstract, example before rule, and why the textbook order is usually wrong.
Analogies and their limits
Using comparison to give an idea a foothold, and knowing when it misleads.
Checking it landed
Reading understanding without asking do you understand.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Find the starting point
Learn what the listener already knows before you begin.
Choose what to leave out
Decide what an explanation needs and cut the rest without lying.
Build in listener order
Sequence an idea so each step stands on the last.
Ideas this course corrects
A complete explanation is a good one
A complete explanation is a lecture. A good one gives the listener what they need next.
Simplifying means dumbing down
Simplifying means choosing. Precision belongs where the listener can use it.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on explanation. It covers finding out where the other person is starting from, choosing what to leave out, and building an idea in the order a listener can follow rather than the order you learned it. It sits under Communication in the Work & ambitions part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I want to explain ideas clearly to people who do not share my background. I lose them in detail or skip the step they needed, and I want to know where to start and what to leave out.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.