Have you ever had the experience of explaining a problem to someone and before they even say anything, something clicks and you realize what the solution is? Communicating your problem out loud is actually a very powerful tool that can often help you understand what's needed without the person you're talking to saying anything.

The Nodding Teddy Bear

A few of the benefits of verbalizing your problem are that it:

1. Makes it clearer

   By stating your problem out loud you are forced to mentally organize all the information you have regarding the problem. It also separates the problem from any emotional mental chatter about your ability, deadlines, anxiety of possible failure, etc.

2. Simplifies the problem

   Assume the person you are explaining the problem to has little or no knowledge of the subject. This forces you to think about what the essence of the problem is and makes you explain it as simply and clearly as possible.

3. Helps you think about the problem, not the solution

   Instead of spending all your energy focusing on what the solution is, you can focus purely on the problem. This takes the pressure away from looking for an answer. It can also help you in accessing different or overlooked information.

4. Uses more of your brain

   Saying the problem out loud engages many more areas of the brain than merely thinking about it. This creates more chances of new connections being made. That's why it also works so much better than just imagining you're telling someone about the problem.

Rubber Ducking

I know “Rubber Ducking” sounds like some terrible new form of torture, but really it's just an inanimate version of the nodding teddy bear. Instead of telling your problem to a person, tell it to a rubber duck.

The concept is popular in the software development industry and is sometimes known as “rubber duck debugging”. You have a rubber duck beside your computer and when you have a problem you can't solve you explain it to your rubber duck. And talking to a rubber duck really does have its benefits:

Rubber ducks don't:

• Say they're too busy and ask you to come back later.
• Interrupt you at a vital point and make you lose your flow.
• Have meetings to go to.
• Yawn.

But if you find the idea of talking to a rubber duck too embarrassing, you can always email it. Write the problem down in an email to the duck or to someone you know. Even though you're not going to send it, visualizing them reading it will help you to explain the problem as clearly and as simply as possible.

Talking someone – or something – through your problem can often be enough to help you find an answer. And whether it means talking to a nodding teddy bear or a rubber duck, it's a lot less embarrassing than telling your boss you can't crack it.