Explainer's Secret Weapon

Trainers and presenters treasure this strategy. Take our free mini-course and watch your audience fall in love with your ideas.

"Excellent. Invaluable. The Explainer Academy was just what I was looking for."

- Bonny Hart, NYC

What’s This All About?

The Explainer Academy is an online school that teaches explanation skills and strategies based on a decade of real-world experience. Whether you'd like to create animated explainer videos or improve your next presentation, we can help.

This free mini-course is a great way to take the Academy for a test-drive.


Why Does This Matter?

Being smart and having great ideas is not enough. Unless your audience truly understands your points, you’ll always struggle to get the attention you deserve.

That understanding comes from explaining with intent. It comes from having a plan and designing your communication to be understandable. That’s why the Explainer Academy matters.


The Problem

You’ve been there… You have amazing, powerful information that will help your audience. Once they understand it, they’ll be able to solve problems and feel confident.

But despite your best efforts, the ideas didn't resonate.

What looked so clear in your head seemed to confuse your audience. They didn’t get it. And now it looks like they've tuned out.

Time was wasted and it’s frustrating. Something needs to change.


The Solution

The secret to solving this problem is developing an explanation strategy and explaining with intent.

Once you learn the basics of explanation strategy, you’ll discover it has amazing potential and depth. You won’t believe how many opportunities there are to improve.

That’s why we built the Explainer Academy. We believe that explanation is an untapped resource that is often taken for granted. We're ready to show you, in an easy step-by-step guide, what it means to be an explainer.

Develop skills that will change your professional life for the better. Learn how to design presentations for understanding and make DIY videos that look professional and solve problems in classrooms, in organizations and on websites.

Are you ready to get started? Take our free course and learn a strategy that you can put to work immediately.


Our Story: Professional Explainers Since 2006

Common Craft

In 2006, we started a project at our company Common Craft that changed our lives. We saw an opportunity to explain technology for the everyday person in the form of short animated videos. Our first video was called RSS in Plain English and today it is now considered the first explainer video of the YouTube era.

Since that time, our intention has always been explanation and we quickly discovered the incredible demand that exists for clear, understandable communication:

  • Our videos have been viewed over 50 million times online
  • Art of Explanation BookOur library of ready-made videos are used by educators in over 55 countries
  • We’ve worked with Google, Intel, LEGO, Dropbox, Microsoft and more on explanation projects
  • In 2012, we wrote The Art of Explanation (Wiley), the definitive book on the subject
  • Academy host Lee LeFever is an international keynote speaker on the subject of explanation

And through it all, we’ve remained focused on two things that we feel are incredibly powerful:

  • Explanation Strategy (planning and communicating information with the intent to explain)
  • Explainer Videos (using media to package an explanation and make it reusable)

The two courses of the Explainer Academy reflect our proven strategies for true understanding. We believe explanation represents an powerful resource that anyone can put to work.


 

"The Explainer Academy taught me real, tangible skills that make me a better collaborator and leader."

- Kalpita Kothary, Co-owner & Engineer, Minky

An Innovative, Multi-Media Experience

This mini-course is offered in Common Craft Style - an engaging mix of words, short animated videos, original visuals, and an exercise to try yourself. And, of course, you'll have a downloadable guide to take with you.


Learn the Explainer's Secret Weapon in this 15-minute mini-course. And once you've registered, we'll email you HUGE course discounts.


Are you ready to get the party started?

 

Your Instructor


Lee LeFever
Lee LeFever

Lee LeFever has been a professional explainer for over 10 years.

Lee is the co-founder of Common Craft, an international keynote speaker and author of The Art of Explanation (Wiley, 2012). He is also credited with inspiring the online "explainer" video industry. In his work, he's helped companies such as Google, Intel, LEGO and Ford to explain their products. His explainer videos have been viewed over 50 million times and licensed to professionals and organizations in over 50 countries.


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"The Explainer Academy couldn't have done a better job of creating 'just right' size pieces to give me a sense of accomplishment and lots to process. Great explaining!

- Bob Rosen, Explainer Academy Graduate

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the mini-course start and finish?
The mini-course starts when you're ready! It is a self-paced online course - you decide when you start and finish.
How long do I have access to the mini-course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like.
Is this course similar to the Explanation Master Course?
The mini-course is similar in style, but is just a small taste of what you will find in the Explanation Master Course.
What's included in this mini-course?
This mini-course includes an engaging mix of writing, short animated videos, original visuals and a downloadable guide to take with you. Along with an overview of explanation strategy, the focus of the course is something we developed at Common Craft called the Explanation Scale. Once you learn this simple method for solving explanation problems, it will become an essential part of your communication strategy.
Why is this mini-course free?
We want you to have a preview, to experience a taste of what you'll find in the comprehensive Explanation Master Course. And what better way to partake than to learn about a simple tool that's useful!
How long will it take me to complete the mini-course?
You can plan on 15 minutes to complete the mini-course.

Other Courses We Offer:

Explanation Master Course

Let your ideas get the attention they deserve. Learn essential skills for turning complex ideas into crystal clear explanations. List Price: $349.

Learn more



DIY Media Maker Course

Learn to produce DIY animated videos using common and affordable tools. This course will turn you into an animated video producer. List Price: $299

Learn more



Explainer Academy Bundle Save 15% by purchasing the Media Maker Course and the Explanation Master Course as a bundle. Bundle Price: $549

Learn more



Get started now!