Externalization: 4 Ways and Methods to Uncover Your Tacit Knowledge

| 35 min read
454 shares
Show Hide video transcript
  1. Transcript loading…

Have you ever struggled to explain something which you easily know how to do? Performing the action is so familiar, and yet so hard to put into words. Or perhaps you’ve experienced the opposite phenomenon: you sketch and write to make a design problem clear to yourself… and you end up with a crystal-clear description of a solution which you didn’t think you had the knowledge needed to come up with when you first started.

Much of our own knowledge, and that of our clients and users, is not uncovered. It lies ‘buried’ deep within us, but we can access it. In other words, it’s tacit. We can apply that tacit knowledge, but we struggle to articulate precisely what it is. Sometimes, we may not even be aware that we know it at all.

In this video, you’ll learn powerful methods to externalize your unarticulated knowledge. And you’ll learn how externalization can enable you to tackle practical problems and lift your ability to think and talk about them to new levels.

Download our Externalization Template to Get Started Now

There are four ways you can use externalization, and we can convert those four ways right into methods you can use in your ideation sessions. Learn how you can use externalization as an ideation method in our template:

Get your free template for “Externalization”
Externalization Externalization
Secure form
Please provide your name.
We respect your privacy
Please provide a valid email address.
316,560 designers enjoy our newsletter—sure you don’t want to receive it?

Topics in This Article

454 shares

Open Access—Link to us!

We believe in Open Access and the democratization of knowledge. Unfortunately, world-class educational materials such as this page are normally hidden behind paywalls or in expensive textbooks.

If you want this to change, , link to us, or join us to help us democratize design knowledge!

Share Knowledge, Get Respect!

Share on:

or copy link

Cite according to academic standards

Simply copy and paste the text below into your bibliographic reference list, onto your blog, or anywhere else. You can also just hyperlink to this article.

Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF. (2020, June 26). Externalization: 4 Ways and Methods to Uncover Your Tacit Knowledge. Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF.

New to UX Design? We're Giving You a Free eBook!

The Basics of User Experience Design

Download our free ebook “The Basics of User Experience Design” to learn about core concepts of UX design.

In 9 chapters, we’ll cover: conducting user interviews, design thinking, interaction design, mobile UX design, usability, UX research, and many more!

A valid email address is required.
316,560 designers enjoy our newsletter—sure you don’t want to receive it?

New to UX Design? We're Giving You a Free eBook!

The Basics of User Experience Design

Download our free ebook “The Basics of User Experience Design” to learn about core concepts of UX design.

In 9 chapters, we’ll cover: conducting user interviews, design thinking, interaction design, mobile UX design, usability, UX research, and many more!

A valid email address is required.
316,560 designers enjoy our newsletter—sure you don’t want to receive it?