The Five-Way Explanation Method
Reframe the same idea until the listener finds a version that clicks
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 98%
Leinan's communication rule is to be ready to say the same thing five different ways. He learned it while teaching tennis: one description of a movement might fail, and a second might also fail, but a later framing can suddenly make the instruction click. The mechanism treats comprehension as a shared communication problem rather than blaming the listener. Start with a clear explanation, observe whether it resonates, and then alter the language, angle, sequence, or analogy while preserving the underlying meaning. Continue until the listener demonstrates understanding. In mortgage work, this matters because consumer-facing professionals must simplify complex financial issues for people making consequential decisions. The method produces understanding by matching the explanation to the listener instead of demanding that every listener adapt to the expert's first phrasing.
Origin
Leinan says he learned the method while teaching tennis, where students often understood only after he described the same instruction in a different way.
Core principles
- 01A failed explanation is not necessarily a failed learner
- 02The same idea can be expressed through multiple frames
- 03Understanding matters more than repeating preferred wording
- 04Good communicators adapt to the listener
How to run it
- 1
State the core idea
Give the simplest accurate version of the concept. Avoid unnecessary technical language on the first pass.
Pro tip Preserve the essential meaning so later versions remain explanations of the same idea.
Watch out Simplifying must not make the explanation inaccurate.
- 2
Check for resonance
Ask or observe whether the listener understands. Treat uncertainty as a signal to change the explanation rather than merely repeat it.
Pro tip Invite the listener to describe what they heard in their own words.
Watch out A nod does not always prove comprehension.
- 3
Change the frame
Restate the concept with different wording, sequencing, or an analogy suited to the listener. Keep varying the presentation when the idea still does not connect.
Pro tip Prepare several ways to explain concepts that regularly confuse clients.
Watch out Repeating the same sentence more slowly is not a new framing.
- 4
Confirm the click
Stop reframing when the listener can demonstrate the intended understanding. Correct any remaining gap without introducing avoidable complexity.
Pro tip Use the listener's successful language in the rest of the conversation.
Watch out Do not keep teaching after comprehension and create fresh confusion.
In the wild
Leinan recalls that while teaching tennis, he sometimes explained the same instruction several ways. The first descriptions did not resonate, but around the fourth version the student understood because the idea had been presented differently.
→ A changed explanation unlocked understanding without changing the underlying lesson.
Common mistakes
Blaming the listener
Assuming the listener is incapable ignores the communicator's ability to change the framing.
Repeating instead of reframing
The method requires a genuinely different route to the same meaning, not louder repetition.
Trading accuracy for simplicity
An accessible explanation still has to preserve the financial or technical truth.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for advisers, teachers, coaches, and salespeople who must make technical subjects understandable.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the obstacle is missing evidence, disagreement, or lack of authority rather than comprehension.
From the transcript
“you have to be able to say the same thing five different ways”
“I said it a different way and now now it's clicking for you”
“you have to be able to communicate with people and find a way that they understand and it resonates with them”
From the episode
Mortgage Mastery ft. Jeff Leinan
Jeff Leinan