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Practice and understand · Lesson 6 of 11

The Feynman Technique: Explain It in Plain Words

Learn to explain an idea aloud in plain words, as if to a beginner, to find the gaps in what you understand and fix them.

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Explaining an idea in plain words is a quick way to find out what you truly understand, and what you only think you understand. In this lesson you will learn a simple four-step method: study, explain it aloud, find the gaps, and explain it again.

The idea: explain it to a beginner

This method is often called the Feynman technique, after the physicist Richard Feynman, who was known for explaining hard ideas plainly. You explain a topic out loud, as if to a complete beginner: a new colleague, a friend from another field, or a curious teenager. Every place where your explanation stalls shows you what to study next.

Under the heading The idea, a label reads The Feynman technique. A smiling person speaks an Example speech bubble labeled As if to a beginner; one line breaks off at a coral circle marked Stall. An arrow leads to the matching part of an open Example book, with the label Study this next.(opens the full-size picture)
Where the explanation stalls is what you study next.

The feeling of knowing

People often feel they understand how things work better than they do. In one set of studies, students rated how well they understood everyday things, like a zipper or a toilet’s flush. Then they tried to explain, step by step, how each one works. After trying, their ratings fell, and many were surprised at how little they could explain.

The effect was much weaker for simple facts, like capital cities. It was strongest for how things work.

Under the heading The feeling of knowing, a card shows A zipper, noted as Studies with students. Beside it, an Example card says Explain it step by step, with steps 1 and 2 filled and step 3 an empty dashed box with a question mark. A bar labeled My rating drops, shown by a coral arrow.(opens the full-size picture)
Trying to explain it, step by step, brings the rating down.

Naming is not explaining

Recognizing a topic is not the same as being able to explain it. What feels familiar can feel learned. Naming the parts is easy. Saying what causes what, in order, is where the gaps show.

For example, you might know that rain has something to do with the sea and clouds. But can you say how the water gets from the sea into the cloud?

An Example called How rain forms, under the heading Naming is not explaining: three cards, Sea, Cloud and Rain. The link from Sea to Cloud is broken by a coral question mark, while Cloud to Rain has an arrow. A ticked note says Can name the parts, and a label asks What causes what?(opens the full-size picture)
You can name every part and still miss a link.

Steps 1 and 2: study it, then explain it aloud

First, study the topic, knowing you will have to explain it. In studies, simply expecting to teach helped people learn, even before any teaching happened.

Then close your notes and explain it aloud, from memory. Recording a voice memo on your phone can help you listen back later. In studies, speaking tended to help more than writing, and explaining with your notes open is closer to rereading than to learning.

A row of four steps under the heading The method: Study it to teach it is ticked, and 2, Explain it aloud, is active. A closed Example book sits beside a speech bubble, with the label Aloud, from memory. On the right, Studies of explaining: Speaking is marked Helped more, and Writing is faded.(opens the full-size picture)
Close the book and say it out loud.

Step 3: find the gaps

Then think back, or listen back. Notice the moments where you:

  • hesitated, or lost your thread,
  • used a word you could not unpack into simpler words,
  • skipped a step without saying why it follows.

Those are your gaps. Reopen the material for those parts only, not the whole chapter.

Step 3, Find the gaps, is active in the row of steps. A thought bubble shows a sound wave with three coral breaks, labeled Hesitated, Unclear word and Skipped why. An open Example book on the right has one part highlighted, with the label Just the gaps.(opens the full-size picture)
Each pause, fuzzy word or skipped step is a gap to fill.

Step 4: explain it again, more simply

Then explain it again, more simply, with an example of your own. Plain words matter, because a technical term can hide an idea you have not really understood. Everyday language makes you spell out the missing link.

In the rain example, the second try might sound like this: “The sun warms the sea. Its water rises into the air.” Now the link from sea to cloud is spelled out.

Step 4, Explain it again, is active with the first three steps ticked. An Example card reads: The sun warms the sea. Its water rises into the air. Below, Sea, Cloud and Rain are now joined by arrows. A drawing of the sun warming water, with steam rising, is labeled Your own example.(opens the full-size picture)
The second explanation fills the gap in plain words.

When to use it

Use this for how and why ideas you have already studied, like how a process works or why a result holds. For basic facts, such as names or dates, testing yourself is quicker. And don’t use it on a topic you are meeting for the first time: you need something to build the explanation from, so study first.

Two cards under the heading When to use it. Use it for: How and why ideas, with a check and two gears. For facts: Basic facts, with a flashcard and a calendar leading to a check, and the label Test yourself. A note below says Research still limited, mostly students.(opens the full-size picture)
Explaining for how and why; testing yourself for facts.

A fair note

Research on this method is still limited, mostly with students in short lab sessions. Some studies found a benefit and others did not. Explaining aloud, from memory, and then going back to the material is the version with the most support.

YOUR TURN

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Read the full lesson script

In this lesson, you will learn to explain an idea in plain words. It is a quick way to find out what you truly understand, and what you only think you understand.

This is often called the Feynman technique, after the physicist Richard Feynman. You explain a topic out loud, as if to a complete beginner. Every place where your explanation stalls shows you what to study next.

People often feel they understand how things work better than they do. In one set of studies, students rated how well they understood everyday things, like a zipper. After trying to explain them step by step, their ratings fell.

Recognizing a topic is not the same as being able to explain it. What feels familiar can feel learned. Naming the parts is easy. Saying what causes what, in order, is where the gaps show.

First, study the topic, knowing you will have to explain it. Then close your notes and explain it aloud, from memory. In studies, speaking tended to help more than writing.

Then think back. Notice where you hesitated, used a word you could not unpack, or skipped a step without saying why. Those are your gaps. Reopen the material for those parts only.

Then explain it again, more simply, with an example of your own. Plain words matter, because a technical term can hide an idea you have not really understood. Everyday language makes you spell out the missing link.

Use this for how and why ideas you have already studied, like how a process works. For basic facts, such as names or dates, testing yourself is quicker. Research on this method is still limited, mostly with students.

So, close the book, explain the idea aloud in plain words, and study the spots where you stall. Today, explain one idea from your topic aloud in two minutes, then fix the weakest part. Next, you will learn to judge what you really know.