The Art of Explanation

How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence

By: Ros Atkins

Narrated by: Ros Atkins

A practical and accessible guide to getting across complex information clearly, by BBC presenter and journalist Ros Atkins, creator of the viral 'Ros Atkins on...' explainer videos.

Explanation - conveying meaning - is an art. And the BBC presenter and journalist Ros Atkins, creator of the viral 'Ros Atkins on...' explainer videos, is something of a master of the form. In this book, Ros shares the secrets he has learned from years of working in high-pressure newsrooms, identifying the ten elements of a good explanation and the seven steps you need to take to express yourself as persuasively and accurately as possible.

Whether you need to articulate your thoughts clearly for business, educational or social purposes, The Art of Explanation is a must-listen for anyone who wants to improve their communication skills.

(P) 2023 Headline Publishing Group Ltd©2023 Ros Atkins

Critic reviews

To watch an Atkins report is akin to observing a watchmaker assemble the inner workings of a timepiece - there's precision, deftness and a calming expertise.

Crisp common sense and beautifully written. Ros is a brilliant communicator and is able to make even the gnarliest subjects crystal clear. (Lorraine Kelly, ITV Presenter)

The shining light that guides us to understanding what on earth is going on in our complicated world! Ros Atkins has that rare quality of appealing to all generations - even teens who don't watch TV News find his explainers on their phones and follow his guidance to the thorny topics of the day. Now they can learn to do that for themselves. The book every parent wants to slide in their teens' direction to equip them for real life. (Sarah Brown, founder and president of Theirworld charity)

A brilliant guide to communication and explanation. This book will make your arguments stand out in the tsunami of information in our world. It's for all those who want their audiences to listen and understand when they write an essay, a presentation or even send a simple email. (Jeremy Bowen, BBC News)

What a gift! One of the UK's great communicators shares his wisdom so we can all explain better. It's an engaging, entertaining and (above all) useful book showing how to unpack, organise, compose and deliver our ideas better. To communicate clearly we must think clearly. This book shows how to do both. (Professor Todd Rogers, Harvard University)

From the journalist whose trademark is concision and clarity comes a manual on how the rest of us can achieve just that. The Art of Explanation is part-memoir, part self-help, and thoroughly informative and enjoyable. (Reeta Chakrabarti)

Public speaking will become far less nerve-wracking after reading this book ... Atkins teaches readers how to best articulate themselves in front of an audience, keep people's attention during a presentation, perform well during an interview, and boost your confidence in general.

A dazzling primer on how we can tell the truth effectively. All the tools you need against misinformation are contained within. (Alan Rusbridger, Editor, Prospect Magazine)

Lucid and detailed ... good advice on memory, presentation and a range of techniques to put forward the best explanations in both verbal and electronic communication.

Ros Atkins does a masterful job of showing you how to be a better communicator in a 'news you can use' book that is interesting, engaging and, ultimately, transformative for readers. (Raju Narisetti, McKinsey Publishing)

This book is incredibly useful to anyone who has to make a persuasive case, illustrated with stories of failures and triumph's from Ros career as a journalist. I thought I knew how to write and present, but this book has already changed the way I communicate. (Vivian Schiller, Aspen Institute)

Recomendado

Ofrece una guía clara para crear explicaciones eficientes y accesibles. El autor desglosa el proceso paso a paso, desde reunir información y hablar con expertos, hasta editar, practicar y formular preguntas. Estos principios se pueden aplicar tanto en presentaciones orales como escritas. Me gustó mucho, ya que el autor, con su experiencia como reportero, demuestra ser un experto en el tema. Recomendado para quienes buscan mejorar sus habilidades para explicar.

20 out of 10

The book itself is proof of the authors mastery of the subject. Never have I heard someone so masterfully explain the science behind explanations. Buy it. Read it. Apply it.

Helpful information for organizing communication

This book explains an analytical approach for different types of communication. I have heard many things that I am doing daily. It is important to understand that the ideas described in the book are coming to you only by practice and some of them are invisible before you practice your communication skills. The book explains the techniques that require a lot of preparation before communication and it has little about what to do when you have little time or whenever somebody confront your explanation.
I think it’s helpful book for understanding how to prepare and share different types of explanations, written or verbal.

So good. So actionable and relevant!

Excellent (wait for it...) explanations!! So relatable and delivered in a memorable, logical framework. Well done.

Liberal undertones

The author/narrator, conveniently and strategically brings forth ideas of communication with examples of liberal sound bites.