The Art of Explanation

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What to expect

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

Critics Review

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.
The Times
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.
Business Traveller Magazine
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.
Independent
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
A recipe book for storytelling, made to be dipped into . . . there is a particular brilliance in the anecdotes told here . . . moving it from textbook to something that operates like a well-thumbed cookbook, asserting its value with heart.
Irish Times
This is brilliant book; if you work in the communications industry it's a must-read.
Sir John Hegarty, founder of Saatchi & Saatchi & BBH
A great new book on explanation by Ros Atkins - sharing the secrets that make him one of the clearest analysts in modern journalism.
Rory Stewart, author and co-host of The Rest Is Politics
Ros Atkins brings the same clarity and detail to his book as he does to the reports that have made him a well-known and respected figure on the BBC. This book is useful well beyond the media world.
Alastair Campbell, author and co-host of The Rest Is Politics
I've read a lot of books about clear communication, knowing your audience, and getting your message across. This is the best.
Isabel Berwick, writer and host of the FT Working It podcast
A great read for polishing your communication skills.
Forbes

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