If you’ve ever wondered how it might feel to explain advice to a client, this is a simple way to try it out. It’s not about getting it right – it’s about seeing what happens when you put your thinking into words.
You don’t need long for this exercise, but it is worth having something to make notes on, whether that’s a notebook, a word doc or the notes app on your phone.
As you work through each section, jot down anything that stands out. The aim isn’t to create a polished piece of work or reach a firm conclusion. It’s simply to capture your reactions, observations and thoughts as they arise.
Try not to overthink your answers. Some of what you write may feel obvious, while other points may surprise you. That’s often where the value lies – this exercise is designed to get you to reflect.
Pick a recent recommendation
Think of a recommendation you worked on recently – choose something you felt comfortable with. It doesn’t need to be complex. It just needs to be something you understand well enough to explain.
Now imagine the client has asked a simple question.
“Why are we doing this?”
That’s it.
Write your first response
Keeping your answer short, write down a few sentences that come to mind.
Don’t try to make it perfect and don’t worry about using the “right” language. Just write as if you were explaining it to the client sitting in front of you.
If you find yourself pausing to think, that’s fine. If you want to change what you’ve written halfway through, that’s fine too.
The important part is that you keep going until you’ve said what you need to say.
When you’ve finished, make a note of how that felt. Was it easier than expected? Did you find yourself slipping into technical language? Was there a point where you became stuck?
Read it back to yourself
Once you’ve written it, read it back slowly.
Not as a paraplanner reviewing a report, but as if you were the client hearing it for the first time.
As you read, note down anything that stands out.
Did it make sense?
Did it feel clear enough?
Was there anything you felt tempted to explain differently?
You don’t need to edit anything yet. Just notice your reaction. We’d also encourage you to do this part of the exercise out loud – rather than just read, although it can also be quite powerful to do both.
You’re much more likely to notice things when saying them aloud and of course when you’re in front of a real client asking you this question, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing.
Make one small change
Now, to make a change – not to everything – just one part that you feel could be clearer.
It might be a sentence you shorten or a singular word you replace. It might be a phrase that sounds more natural when spoken aloud…another treason to do this exercise by reading and saying aloud!
Your golden rule here? Keep. It. simple.
The aim isn’t to transform what you’ve written. It’s to get used to shaping an explanation in a way that feels natural to you and easy to follow.
Once you’ve made that change, make a note of what prompted it.
What this shows you
This exercise isn’t about testing whether you can “do” advice.
It’s about noticing what happens when you move from understanding something yourself to explaining it to someone else.
You have taken a piece of thinking you are already comfortable with and expressed it in your own words. Even if it only took a few minutes, you’ve stepped away from analysis and into explanation.
As you look back over your notes, what do they tell you?
Did you enjoy the exercise? Did it make you feel uncomfortable? Did anything surprise you?
Those observations are often more valuable than the explanation itself.
If it felt uncomfortable
That’s expected.
Writing in this way can feel exposing at first, particularly if you’re used to refining things before anyone else sees them. It may feel less precise than a report. It may feel as though there is less control over how the message lands.
That discomfort doesn’t mean you’ve done it badly. It usually means you’re doing something different.
Make a note of what felt uncomfortable. Sometimes identifying that feeling is the first step towards understanding it.
If it felt easier than expected
That is useful too because it often suggests that the gap between paraplanning and advising isn’t as wide as it can appear when viewed from a distance.
You may already be closer to that style of communication than you realised.
Again, make a note of what felt natural. Understanding your strengths can be just as valuable as identifying the areas you want to develop.
What to do with this
You don’t need to keep what you’ve written, but you might want to keep the notes you’ve made about the exercise itself.
They provide a snapshot of where you are right now and what stood out to you.
You may also choose to repeat this exercise with a different case in a few weeks’ time and compare your reflections. What felt difficult before may feel more natural and what seemed obvious might change.
Before moving on, take a moment to look back through your notes.
What is the one thing you’ve learned about yourself from completing this exercise? Your next step can be how you choose to take that forward.
Main image: notepad, pen, david-travis-5bYxXawHOQg-unsplash
