Coaching practices for I Can't Tell Anymore Which of the Things I Know I Actually Understand Versus Just Talk About Confidently When I Try to Explain Some of Them Out Loud I Realize I'm Mostly Repeating What I've Heard
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For I Can't Tell Anymore Which of the Things I Know I Actually Understand Versus Just Talk About Confidently When I Try to Explain Some of Them Out Loud I Realize I'm Mostly Repeating What I've Heard, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I can’t tell anymore which of the things I “know” I actually understand versus just talk about confidently
- I read about this and it all felt obvious while I was reading
- I thought I understood this until I tried to actually say it out loud
- When I’m explaining something and hit a spot where I get vague or hand-wave past it, my instinct is to tell myself it’s just a wording problem and keep going
- I keep launching into explanations assuming people are starting from where I picture them, and I’m forever either talking over their heads or boring them with stuff they already know
Practices that may help
- Map your actual circle honestly
Distinguish what you know deeply from what you know superficially, and what you only think you know.
Circle of Competence - Apply the explanation test to gauge real understanding
If you can’t explain something simply without notes, you probably don’t understand it as well as you think.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect, Understood Clearly - Explain it out loud to a real or imagined learner
Actually say the explanation aloud, to a person, a pet, or an empty chair.
The Protege Effect: Learn It Better by Teaching It - Pinpoint where the explanation breaks
Treat every stumble, hand-wave, or jargon-grab as a flag for a real gap.
The Feynman Technique, Step by Step - Ask what the audience already knows before explaining
Probe prior knowledge explicitly rather than assuming it.
The Curse of Knowledge: Why Experts Struggle to Teach - Paraphrase and explicitly check your understanding
"What I’m hearing is… Did I get that right?" — the two-part loop that closes the understanding gap.
Looping for Understanding (Difficult Conversations) - Pre-explanation rating with commitment
Rate your understanding before attempting to explain — not after — and record the number.
Illusion of Explanatory Depth: You Know Less Than You Think - Teach a real peer and let them push back
Explain to another person who can ask questions and say "I don’t get it."
The Protege Effect: Learn It Better by Teaching It - Explain the mechanism, not the function
When you think you understand something, try to explain how it works step-by-step — not just what it does.
Illusion of Explanatory Depth: You Know Less Than You Think - Find a genuine novice to test your explanation on
Before the real audience, explain to someone who actually doesn’t know.
The Curse of Knowledge: Why Experts Struggle to Teach
Related concerns
- Illusion Of Explanatory Depth You Know Less Than You Think When Starting Out
The illusion of explanatory depth (IOED), documented by Rozenblit and Keil, is the systematic overestimation of how deeply you understand everyday mechanisms — devices, policies, biological processes. Most people believe they can explain how a toilet or a zipper works until asked to actually explain it, at which point their understanding collapses. The illusion is broken by requiring explanation at the mechanistic level rather than the narrative level.
- Admitting You Don T Know
Say 'I don’t know’ clearly — it raises the quality of the conversation and your decisions.
Admit uncertainty out loud, especially in your own domain
- How To Admit You Don T Know Something
Admitting the limits of your knowledge signals intellectual honesty and raises long-term credibility.
Say "I don’t know" when you genuinely don’t
- How To Know If You Really Understand
Check comprehension actively during study — pausing to test yourself rather than assuming understanding.
Real-time self-monitoring
- How To Know If You Understand
Check comprehension actively during study — pausing to test yourself rather than assuming understanding.
- Illusion Of Explanatory Depth You Know Less Than You Think After A Loss
The illusion of explanatory depth (IOED), documented by Rozenblit and Keil, is the systematic overestimation of how deeply you understand everyday mechanisms — devices, policies, biological processes. Most people believe they can explain how a toilet or a zipper works until asked to actually explain it, at which point their understanding collapses. The illusion is broken by requiring explanation at the mechanistic level rather than the narrative level.
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