Explaining Your Thinking Out Loud So a Friend Can Follow It

Here is something worth knowing today. Getting the answer is only half the work. Now say how you got it. Start with what you knew. Then tell what you did. End with what you found. When you talk through your steps, other people can follow your math thinking with you.

Here is an example you can copy. I knew there were seven. Then three were left. So I counted back three and got four. That is a clear explanation. When someone can follow your steps, you have truly understood the problem. Your words show what your mind did.

Explaining also helps you catch your own mistakes. A wrong step usually sounds wrong when you say it aloud. Here is a good test of understanding. Explain your work to someone younger than you. If you can make a smaller child follow it, you understand it very well indeed.

If you find yourself saying you just knew it, go back and find what you really did. Practice a few times and it will feel easy. Doctors, builders, and pilots all explain their thinking. Work that cannot be explained cannot be trusted. God made minds that can share truth clearly with others.