The Art of Explanation: Making your Ideas, Products, and Services Easier to Understand

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I want to acknowledge my wife Sachi for her role in this book and, indeed, in everything I do. She operates behind the scenes by choice and although my name is on the cover, this book was a collaboration that could not have happened without her.

We also want to thank our friends and families for always being supportive and interested in our work. They are usually the first to see our videos and play a huge role in improving them. Jay Fienberg and Anastasia Fuller of Juxtaprose built our book website and are a constant source of advice and encouragement.

Of course, Common Craft members and our past clients have motivated us to always learn and to keep pursuing the idea that better explanations are useful and possible. This book would not have been possible without them.

Over the course of writing this book, I contacted a number of authors and experts in the communication world. They each graciously helped me prepare for the process of writing and often provided gems of insight that helped me see new potential. They include Monique Trottier, Dave Gray, Noah Iliinski, Julie Szabo, Darren Barefoot, Patrick O'Keefe, Ian Devier, Sunni Brown, Jay Rosen, Tania Lombrozo, Austin Kleon, Dan Roam, Nancy Duarte, Scott Berkun, and Jessica Hagy.

Many thanks also go to our editors at John Wiley & Sons, including Lauren Murphy, who originally contacted me about this book two years before it was published.