Internalizing Intellectual Standards
A weekly practice of focusing on a specific intellectual standard (e.g., clarity, precision) to increase awareness and improve thinking, using a four-step method: state, elaborate, illustrate, and exemplify.
THE IDEA
Choose one intellectual standard each week, such as clarity or precision, and look for it in your speaking, writing, and reading. For clarity, ask whether you can identify the main point and explain it to another person. Notice where your own explanation or someone else’s leaves you uncertain.
Use four checks: state the point, elaborate on its meaning, illustrate it with an analogy, and exemplify it with a concrete case. These checks can expose gaps; they do not guarantee that an explanation is correct or understood.
When to use it
When writing an important email, use the four checks to identify unclear claims and ask a reader to explain the requested action.
During team meetings, practice listening for clarity and asking clarifying questions based on the standards.
When studying complex material, use the method to find gaps in your explanation.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Applying the clarity standard to a business proposal
For a business proposal, state the objective and explain why it matters. Illustrate the planning role with an analogy, then give a concrete example of a task the proposal would change. Check whether the example actually follows from the objective.
Testing clarity in reading comprehension
After reading a chapter, state its main idea in a sentence and explain the supporting argument. Try an analogy, then a concrete case that fits the idea. If you cannot connect them, reread the relevant passage or ask for clarification.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
How can you tell if your own communication is clear? What specific criteria do you use?
Think of a recent conversation where misunderstanding occurred. Could applying the state-elaborate-illustrate-exemplify method have helped?
Which intellectual standard (clarity, precision, etc.) do you find most challenging to maintain? Why?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Thinking in Systems and Mental Models Think Like a Super Thinker (Dawson, Marcus P)