I know it’s a cliche, but unless you are a word-ninja then trying to verbally describe everything on conference calls is fraught with risks.

Conveying common meaning and fine detail is hard, plus you never really know which bits they ‘got’ or didn’t quite.

Additionally we’re often blind to our assumptions of our own accuracy – the very reason proof-reading is a thing!

This applies to anything – an intention, a process, an event and even a physical object. They’re all hard to describe fully, for everyone. Add multi-cultural and different language challenges too, just for laughs! Sure, the same applies if you were face-to-face, but studies show body cues greatly aid comprehension. Plus you rarely give a physical meeting with no ‘props’ prepared.

So here are two simple suggestions:

Use Analogy. Leverage something that’s similar and you know listeners are familiar with.

Use Visuals. Diagrams, illustrations, photos or rough sketches – I’d say anything is better than nothing. It’s mentally less draining than relying on every last word, and always makes for richer engagements. I actually have a bank of content related to my work, so I can always “show” what I mean, verses just trying to describe it.