Ask HN: How do you articulate yourselves so well?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16003980

by Froyoh • 9 years ago

36 19 9 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

How do you articulate yourselves so well?

bthallplz• 9 years ago

We might have a difficult time telling you how we do it, but I suspect that the why of that we do it is that we've been in situations in which thorough and clear explanations significantly helped us and/or others, and we hope to have a bit of that for ourselves at the ready at all times.

With that said, practice writing down thorough explanations of things, then play with the way that you've structured or presented the statements. Think about how a reader/hearer might respond to what you've said. Then practice what you've learned by communicating with friends/contacts.

qubex5• 9 years ago

Read books, lots and lots of non-fiction books. Dial down your consumption of mass media (television and internet blogs) and social media especially. Expand your understanding of written exposition, make yourself receptive to others’ arguments (which means: feel free to change opinion if somebody else’s logic convinced you, and don’t always consider convincing others to be the point of the exercise), expand your vocabulary, and perfect your syntax.

a3n• 9 years ago

don’t always consider convincing others to be the point of the exercise

For myself, this almost always leads to a better discussion, or at least a better understanding on my part.

It also takes the pressure off, because I often don't know what I'm talking about.

smt882• 9 years ago

Why only nonfiction? Some nonfiction is among the worst writing I've read, and some fiction is among the best. Metaphors and other literary devices work well in any writing, and some can be learned best from fiction.

I also strongly disagree with expanding your vocabulary, unless you're a non-native speaker. "Big words" have been shown in studies to make your writing harder to understand and seem more pretentious. Good writers can express themselves in a way that an average person can follow.

Same goes for perfect syntax: language is fluid and evolves, and breaking the stricter rules can be very effective.

qubex5• 9 years ago

A broad vocabulary with plenty quasi-synonyms allows one to understand and express subtler concepts. Likewise mastering syntax, particularly less-conventional forms, can allow one to shuffle around words to place emphasis where one might not usually expect it to be, if the need arises.

marktangotango• 9 years ago

Reading, having a large vocabulary, and knowing grammar is akin to knowing the syntax of a programming language, but not knowing how to actually build applications. They certainly help but are not sufficient.

Personally I’ve spent > 10 years arguing with strangers on the internet. It can be a fun way to pass the time, I think many here would agree. I believe I’m a lot more effective now than I was years ago. I think you have to be aware of concepts and definitions, not only how you think of them but how the other person thinks of them, so you can argue in their terms, yes this implies active listening or reading, as you indicated. Also being able to explain things in multiple ways.

Finally, I think the onus is on me to make myself understood, not on the reader to understand me. This can be a subtle distinction many fail to realize. If you ever find yourself saying “you didn’t understand me” then chances are you have some work to do.

matt_the_bass• 9 years ago

I know it sounds contrary and cliché but listening and digesting others comments is valuable.

smt882• 9 years ago

The writing that has most helped me improve my writing has been top-tier journalism (NY Times, Atlantic, Quartz among my favorites), science fiction, Marcel Proust, Jared Diamond, Will Durant, and Robert Penn Warren. YMMV

Casseres• 9 years ago

I attribute my writing abilities to having read a ton of books as a kid.

I read most of those books in middle school, but prior to that in elementary school, I was already reading at a 12th grade level according to some reading test we took in school.

As to why my reading comprehension was advanced for my age? No idea.

I don't nearly do as well with public speaking, but I've tried Toastmasters for a while, and think that helps. At the minimum, you'll meet some great people, have some fun, and listen to (and share I hope!) some great stories.

qubex5• 9 years ago

Likewise, through Middle School., High School. University, and my first three-and-a-half year work experience in China, I read incessantly. I probably averaged two or three books per month (typically nonfiction, initially popular science but increasingly technical, with several textbooks of various subjects thrown in for good measure) for... about fourteen years. That leads me to estimate about 420 books in that period, which roughly matches with the size of my “read” bookcase.

auslegung• 9 years ago

Ben Franklin thought, wrote, and practiced a lot on this subject, you might want to see what he had to say about it.

My two cents: know what you want to communicate, don't deviate from it. Organize your writing or speaking like this: 1) tell them what you're going to tell them, 2) tell them, 3) tell them what you told them. In other words, have an intro, subject, and conclusion, even if you're only writing or speaking 5 sentences. Speak slower, allow pauses, that way you can think through things.

qubex5• 9 years ago

I remember the basic essay plan our English teacher had cajoled us to adopt in High School (which I graduated from almost nineteen years ago, frighteningly enough, at the tail-end of the typographical era of text).

1. Introduction: Tell us what you're going to say.

2. Body: List your facts, create a sub-list of those facts that you are going to argue from, argue from them, undermine yourself by introducing the facts you weren't going to argue from and explore how adopting those changes your conclusion, explain why you chose to exclude those other facts to begin with and thus invalidate the counter-argument (while have shown yourself to be receptive to it).

3. Conclusion: Tell us what you said, and tell us how one could go about settling controversies that arise between yourself and somebody else who reached a different conclusion.

malux85• 9 years ago

Don’t feel compelled to answer immediately. I have got a task for you:

Next time someone asks you a question, think “When is that true? When is that false? What are the ddpendencies of true? What are the dependencies of false? Is true and false the only option? Under what conditions?”

Once you have answered all these questions in your head, then you may answer

You’ll get faster and faster at it

qubex5• 9 years ago

Basically, get a feel for the ontology of knowledge and knowledge systems.

pvaldes• 9 years ago

Having an inner skeleton helps a lot.

nunez• 9 years ago

I’ve gotten better at articulating myself after listening to podcasts, namely those in an interview or journalistic format.

Also, speak slower.

rayalez• 9 years ago

I listen to audiobooks all the time(while jogging in the morning, while doing chores, while eating, during the commute, every free minute I'd waste otherwise), write my thoughts down in a journal, write articles for a blog.

I'm still not excellent, English is my second language and I often do make mistakes, but I've made huge progress simply by reading and writing a lot.

Also, some people will disagree, but I think that tweeting is a very fun and productive way to practice concisely articulating your thoughts.

You can also combine these ideas: listen to audiobooks, take notes, and share the most insightful things you've learned on twitter or blog.

sharkhacks• 9 years ago

I treat this similar to the way I treat giving a speech or presentation. I practice and practice. I build 'material' that I can refer to again and again. This is how standup comedians and people who give talks for a living do it!

For example if I know I need to explain Blockchain to someone I would sit down before-hand and write a simple explanation, rehearse it until I memorize it, then I would explain it to the person, the first time I explain it I might be slow and rusty, but if I have to explain it to another person I will be a bit better, etc. etc. so by the time someone else asks me to explain it, I sound like a genius :)

This can apply to Technical, Scientific, Personal, and any kind of content/concepts really. You can use this practice to improve your social skills too and tell interesting stories!

yesenadam• 9 years ago

Meta-answer: Asking the question that way, you're asking to hear from those that think they 'articulate themselves so well', which may not be those that actually do. Most people, I've noticed, who think they do anything particularly well, don't.[0] I'm far too modest to have a stab at answering. :-)

Also, not clear what you mean exactly. In writing? speaking? Two entirely different things. Some can do both, neither, or one of those well. Well, more than two; there are a wide range of forms of both.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

Ask HN: How do you articulate yourselves so well?

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