# Explaining complex things, to people that don’t care

You don’t.
You can’t logic someone into curiosity.
You can’t overwhelm them into attention.
You can’t out-detail indifference.
But how do you even end up having to explain something to someone who doesn't care?

## It’s not that difficult actually

We don't usually care about what others have to say, unless we already have a reason to. That reason varies — wanting something, fearing something, or simply being interested in the topic (or the person talking). But most of the time, even when a reason exists, it's initially weak. So, by default, when we explain something, we explain it to people that don’t care.

## Have you ever heard of creatine phosphate systems?

Too abrupt? What about progressive overload? Neuromuscular adaptation? ATP regeneration?
Did I lose you yet?

**What if I had begun like this?**
Did you know all you need to get stronger faster is one more rep? You know the feeling of being stuck with the same weight on the bar for months, what if one more rep is all you need to massively reduce the chances of it ever happening to you again?

Now *you* have something to gain from listening to me, so will you?

Here's the short version: your body resists change. It's efficient — it won't build muscle it doesn't think it needs. But when you push just slightly past what it's used to, even one extra rep, you force an adaptation. Do that consistently and small increments compound into serious strength. That's progressive overload. Not complicated.

## Nietzsche’s critique of Christian morality and the transvaluation of values…

Did what I wrote above spark anything in you? Anything at all? 
I just put words in an order, they might mean something, but you don’t care probably.

**But**
Have you ever achieved something big and still felt...nothing?
You did? Awesome, me too. I think I have a reason for why that is.

Nietzsche thought that most of us inherit our sense of purpose, from religion, culture, family, and *never* question it. But when you achieve the thing you were told to want and feel nothing, that's the inherited meaning failing you. What's left is harder: you have to build your own. He called it a burden. I think it's also a kind of freedom, once you stop expecting meaning to show up on its own.

## Narrative structure and tension curves in your presentations directly influence how much your audience retains

Ok, so what? How is this information useful to me?

**It isn’t, however**
Have you ever given a presentation and halfway through you felt nobody was listening?
Me too. And it felt like a huge hit to my confidence. Maybe what both of us lacked wasn’t information, but structure and a hook. Some provocation, some idea to spark curiosity, to give them a reason to listen. A story is not an optional part of a presentation, it is *the* presentation.

## Did you reach this point?

If you read up until here, I managed to explain to you 3 complex things, that you probably didn’t care much about. To tie in to our beginning, does this mean I did what "can’t be done”?
Not quite. The problem was never the complexity of the idea, or you not caring at the beginning. It was me not trying to bridge the gap between us. You didn't read on because of progressive overload, Nietzsche, or narrative structures. You read on because in each case I offered you something — a bit of ego, a flash of recognition, a moment of confusion.

I didn't wait for you to come to me. I met you where you already were and brought you along. That's how you explain complex things to people who don't care.