Our Product is Explanation
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So, How's The Book Doing?
About 6 months ago, my first book was published: The Art of Explanation. Being my first, I didn’t know what to expect from the process, the reviews, the sales, the marketing. Thankfully I found my way through and now have some information on how it’s been received.
First, let me start by offering a HUGE thanks to all the people who have purchased the book. You rock. I wish I could thank you more personally. I hope it has helped you think differently about how you communicate.
So how IS the... Continue Reading
Interview with Patrick Sharma, Newsbound's Explainer-in-Chief
Posted by: leelefever on October 24, 2012- 12:54pm
Categories: Explainer Profile, Explanation, journalism, news, politics
A while back I noticed that an organization called Newsbound posted a job opening for an "Explainer-in-Chief", a title I love to see. Curious, I followed Newsbound and eventually met Patrick Sharma, the person who now fills that role. He's been kind enough to answer a few questions and share a remarkable format the company is using to package explanations.
1. Tell me about Newsbound and your role there. What's the company's mission and story?
Newsbound is a San Francisco-based digital media... Continue Reading
Amazon, eBooks, Zombies and New Videos
Posted by: leelefever on October 16, 2012- 9:57am
Categories: Art of Explanation, ebook, news, zombies
Here’s a quick update about the status of The Art of Explanation and some things we have planned over the next month.
The book is currently shipping from Amazon and making its way to other bookstores now. By October 23rd, it should be everywhere. If you have a copy, I’d love to hear your thoughts. You could be the first to write a review on Amazon!
Many of you have asked about eBooks. The Art of Explanation will be available as an eBook, and I expect it to be for sale by the end of the month... Continue Reading
HBO's Newsroom: Sloan Sabbith as an Explanation Specialist?
Posted by: leelefever on July 31, 2012- 10:26am
Categories: Explanation Specialist, HBO, journalism, news, tv
The new HBO show Newsroom, written by Aaron Sorkin, follows the lives of a team of TV journalists at a fictional news station called ACN. Instead of making up a constant stream of news for the show, Sorkin opted to set the show in the recent past and cover real-life events like the Gulf Oil Spill and the rise of the Tea Party. Some speculate that the show represents Sorkin’s vision of how the stories should have been covered in the news.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and I do not wish to dwell on... Continue Reading
I'm Writing a Book About Explanation
Posted by: leelefever on March 7, 2012- 7:50am
Categories: announcement, Art of Explanation, book, Explanation, news
It’s true. The book is called “The Art of Explanation” and it should hit the shelves in the fall of 2012, published by Wiley & Sons.
The Big Idea:
The Art of Explanation is built on the very simple idea that explanation is a skill that can be learned and improved. The book is designed to help people rethink how they communicate and learn to package ideas into simple explanations that make people care, whether it’s at home, work or school.
Background:
For many years, I’ve been a... Continue Reading
Our very own Sachi LeFever is the "Geek of the Week" on the Big Blog at the Seattle PI. The Geek of the Week is a series of short interviews that highlight local Seattle geeks. Last week's geek was Bryan Zug.
My favorite answer:
When did you first know you were a geek? Describe that moment: My first grade teacher scolded me for finishing too many Schoolhouse Math worksheets, so I began sneaking them until I finished the entire box.
I've been wanting to tell that story for a while. ... Continue Reading
For the first time in Common Craft's evolution, one of our videos "Twitter in Plain English" is being used in the mainstream media. For the most part, we're excited to have our work in front of millions. However, it brings up some questions and we're curious what you think. A few facts:
The video "Twitter in Plain English" is 100% Common Craft's property and is licensed with a Creative Commons non-commercial, no-derivatives license.
Our names and a link to our web site appear at the end of... Continue Reading
Study: Americans Overwhelmingly Demand Simple Communications
Posted by: leelefever on January 13, 2009- 4:00pm
Categories: business, Explanation, news, plainenglish, politics
Siegel+Gale recently completed a year long study of 1,214 American
homeowners and investors that shows huge demand for simple, plain
English communications. A few interesting quotes:
Fully 84% of all consumers say they are more likely to trust a company
that uses jargon-free, plain English in communications. And 79% say
they think it is “very important??? that President Obama “mandate that
clarity, transparency, and plain English be a requirement of every new
law, regulation and policy... Continue Reading
The Demand for "Explainers" and The Giant Pool of Money
Jay Rosen has written article that I could quote 1000 times. It's called National Explainer: A Job for Journalists on the Demand Side of News. It focuses on the huge success of an episode of "This American Life" called The Giant Pool of Money, which serves to explain the US mortgage crisis.
This episode has been downloaded 50,000 times more than any other episide. Why? Because the producers (Ira Glass and Alex Blumberg) focused on explanation instead of information.
When we talk about... Continue Reading
The Original Whiteboard Explainer: Tim Russert
The whiteboard he used on election night 2000 (not the one above) is now a part of the Smithsonian.
Tim Russert has been a staple of our Sunday mornings for years. He is someone for which I had a great deal of respect. Not only was he very, very good at his job, but it was obvious that he loved it and looked forward to it everyday. His enthusiasm was infectious. May we all be so lucky.
R.I.P. Tim Russert, you were a huge inspiration.