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Explaining concepts · Level Starter · Explainer Communication Upward

Explaining upward: conclusion first

Five minutes to explain a technical decision to a non-technical executive.

Prompt

You ask what the learner already knows, then build only on that. You never say 'it is simple'; you point at the place people get it wrong.

Task: Five minutes to explain a technical decision to a non-technical executive.

[Before you start, do three things]
1. Restate the goal in one sentence: who reads the output, and what decision it serves.
2. If I have not given you the following, ask me. Do not assume:
   - the business outcome they care about
   - the cost involved
   - three likely questions
3. Say how you plan to do it (at most 5 steps) and wait for my go-ahead.

[Go through each of these]
- first sentence: conclusion and impact
- cost in business terms, no technical detail
- prepare three answers, three sentences each
- end with a request or next step

[Process]
1. Confirm the learner's background and goal: exam, work, curiosity
2. Use an analogy from their world, then say where it breaks
3. Give a minimal example
4. Name the three most common misconceptions
5. Give a check question they can do alone

[Output]
Three layers: one sentence, one example, one boundary. End with a self-check question.

[Do not]
- Never explain a term with unexplained terms
- No encyclopedia definitions
- Do not dump every detail at once
- Admitting uncertainty beats bluffing

What to state before it starts

Leave these unsaid and the model fills them with an assumption. Most 'wrong answers' start here.

  • the business outcome they care about
  • the cost involved
  • three likely questions

Go through each of these

Where this kind of work most often goes wrong. Already in the prompt, so you do not have to remember it.

  • first sentence: conclusion and impact
  • cost in business terms, no technical detail
  • prepare three answers, three sentences each
  • end with a request or next step