Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize–winning physicist, was famous for his ability to explain incredibly complex ideas in simple, everyday terms. The “Feynman Technique” was his approach to both learning and teaching: if you can’t explain something clearly to someone else, you don’t really understand it yourself.

That principle isn’t just for physics. It’s one of the most useful tools in technical communication.

The Four Steps of the Feynman Technique

The method is straightforward:

1. Choose a concept.
   Pick the thing you’re trying to learn or explain.

2. Teach it to someone else.
   Pretend you’re explaining it to a 12-year-old. Use short sentences and simple words.

3. Identify gaps.
   Notice where you stumble, overcomplicate, or realize you don’t know enough. Those are the parts you need to revisit.

4. Simplify and refine.
   Go back, study those gaps, and then rewrite your explanation in even plainer language. Add analogies or examples if they help.

Why It Works

The Feynman Technique forces you to confront complexity instead of hiding behind jargon. When you try to explain something simply, any fuzziness in your own understanding shows up immediately. It’s a way of testing not just what you know, but how clearly you can communicate it.

For learners, it’s a powerful study strategy. For communicators, it’s a sanity check: Would this make sense if someone read it cold?

How It Connects to Technical Communication

Technical communication and the Feynman Technique share the same core idea: clarity.

• A software tooltip is the “explain it to a 12-year-old” version of a feature description.

• A product demo script is the “teach it to someone else” step, streamlined for time and attention.

• A troubleshooting guide is the “simplify and refine” process in action. Anticipate confusion and then rewrite until it’s gone.

When I work on demos or training materials, I often find myself circling back to this principle. If I can’t explain a workflow without my notes open, then I haven’t mastered it well enough to teach it.

Plain Language and Confidence

One important thing to remember: simplifying doesn’t mean dumbing down. It means stripping away everything that doesn’t help the learner. The result isn’t less professional, it’s more confident.

A clear explanation shows you’ve put in the work to truly understand the subject.

Closing Thought

The Feynman Technique is a reminder that the best test of knowledge isn’t a quiz or a certification. It’s whether you can explain something clearly to someone else.

For technical communicators, that’s our daily work: taking something complex, learning it deeply, and reshaping it so others can use it without hesitation.

If your explanation makes someone feel capable, you’ve succeeded.