Why Am I Bad at Explaining Things Verbally? 5 Fixes
You're probably bad at explaining things verbally for ordinary, fixable reasons, not because you don't understand them. The usual culprits: you try to hold the whole idea in your head at once, you start in the middle instead of at the beginning, and you reach for vague words like "thing" and "stuff" when you're under pressure. Each of those has a simple fix, and a one-minute daily drill makes them stick.
If you know exactly what you mean but it comes out jumbled, IQ Tester checks whether putting reasoning into words is your real weak spot and trains it daily: Find my weak spots.
You know it but cannot say it
This is the most frustrating version. You understand how the game works, how the math problem goes or why the movie ending was clever. Someone asks you to explain, and suddenly it's "okay so, like, there's this thing, and then the other thing, wait, no, before that..."
If that's you, here's the reassuring bit: knowing something and explaining it are two separate skills. Knowing lives in a web in your head, where everything connects to everything else at once. Explaining has to come out as a single line, one word after another.
So when people say "I know it but I can't explain it," they usually mean it literally. The knowledge is there. The conversion from web to line is what's slipping.
The good news? Conversion is a skill, and skills improve with practice. Let's look at where it breaks.
Holding too much at once
When you start explaining, your brain tries to keep the whole picture in view: the beginning, the tricky part, the example, the exception, what the listener already knows. That's a lot to juggle in working memory, the small mental space you use to hold things while you think.
When it overflows, you lose your place. You repeat yourself, jump ahead, or forget what you were saying mid-sentence.
Signs this is your issue
- You lose your thread halfway through.
- You say "wait, what was I saying?" a lot.
- Explaining in writing is much easier than out loud.
What helps
Don't hold the whole thing. Hold only the next step. Before you speak, pick three points and only three. You can say more later, but three is a size your head can carry.
Missing the order
The second big reason people find it so hard to explain things: they start where their brain is, not where the listener is.
Your brain is usually at the interesting part, like the twist, the tricky step or the funny moment. But your listener needs the setup first. So you start in the middle, realise they're lost, jump back, and now it's a tangle.
A simple order that works for almost anything
- What it is (one sentence).
- Why it matters or what it's for.
- How it works, in steps.
- One example.
Try it on something easy. "What's a group chat mute button?"
- "It's a setting that stops notifications from one chat."
- "It's useful when a chat is busy but you don't want to leave it."
- "You press the chat name, tap mute and pick how long."
- "Like muting the family chat during exams."
That took ten seconds and it was clear, because the order did the work.
For a deeper version of this structure (answer first, numbered steps, a check), see how to explain your thought process.
Words that are too vague
Under pressure, precise words vanish and placeholders take over: "thing," "stuff," "it," "that part," "kind of." To you, "the thing" is obvious because you can see it in your head. Your listener can't.
Swap vague for specific
| Vague | Specific |
|---|---|
| "The thing goes into the other thing" | "The key goes into the lock" |
| "It kind of does stuff to the numbers" | "It doubles each number" |
| "That part was confusing" | "The second paragraph, where she lies to her mom, was confusing" |
| "You just do it" | "You tap Settings, then Privacy" |
Why this happens
Finding the exact word takes a moment of effort. When you're already juggling the order and the whole idea, that effort gets dropped first. Fix the first two problems and this one often improves by itself.
Five fixes
Here are five practical ways to get better at explaining things, from quickest to deepest.
1. Pause and pick three points
Before you start, take two seconds. Choose three points. Say them in order. It feels slow, but it's faster than restarting twice.
2. Say the one-sentence version first
"Basically, it's a game where you trade cards to build the strongest team." Then add detail. If a listener only heard your first sentence, would they get the idea?
3. Explain it to a 10-year-old
Imagine explaining to a smart kid. You can't use jargon, you can't skip steps, and you have to give an example. This is sometimes called the Feynman technique, after the physicist Richard Feynman, who was known for explaining hard ideas simply. It forces clarity.
4. Use "because" and "so"
These tiny words show how your points connect. "It rained, so the game was cancelled, because the field floods." Without them, your points sound like a random list.
5. Check with a question
End with: "Does that make sense, or should I explain the second part again?" This isn't weakness. It's what good explainers do.
The hardest thing about fixing this alone is you can't hear yourself the way others do. Your explanation always sounds fine from inside your head. IQ Tester's 16-question check takes about two minutes and shows whether putting reasoning into words is really your weak spot, or whether it's working memory or scattered attention underneath, then gives you a daily drill aimed at it. Find my weak spots
A one-minute daily drill
Here's a tiny habit for anyone wondering how to explain things better. It takes one minute and you can do it anywhere.
- Pick a topic. Something you know: a game, a recipe, a school topic, a show.
- Set a 60-second timer.
- Explain it out loud using the order: what it is, why it matters, how it works, one example.
- No vague words allowed. If you say "thing," stop and replace it.
- Once a week, record it and listen back. You'll notice what to fix fast.
Stick with it for two weeks. Most people find they ramble less and restart less. If you want the bigger picture of building verbal skills, how to improve verbal reasoning covers reading, analogies and more.
Find out why you're bad at explaining things verbally
If you've been asking yourself why you're bad at explaining things verbally, the fastest step is finding out which piece is slipping. IQ Tester's 16 questions take about two minutes and give you a reasoning tier and your weak spots, plus a daily tip and a ten-minute drill like "Name the rule out loud" to practise on.
FAQ
Why do I have a hard time explaining things I understand?
Understanding sits in your head as a connected web, but explaining needs a single line of steps. Converting one to the other is its own skill. Picking three points and a simple order before you speak makes it much easier.
Why am I bad at explaining my thoughts when I'm put on the spot?
Pressure uses up mental space, so you have less room to organise words. Start with a one-sentence summary, then add steps. Having a go-to structure means you don't have to invent one under pressure.
How do I get better at explaining things to others?
Practise out loud for a minute a day, use a fixed order (what, why, how, example), swap vague words for specific ones, and check your listener is following. Explaining to an imaginary 10-year-old is a great workout.
Is being bad at explaining things a sign of low intelligence?
No. Many very capable people struggle to explain things, because explaining is a separate skill from understanding. It improves with practice like any other skill.
Why am I bad at explaining myself in arguments?
In arguments, emotions add pressure and you try to say everything at once. Pick your single most important point, say it clearly, and give one reason. You can add more once that point has landed.