Visual Explainer

Make complex ideas easy to see, scan, and understand. Support people who prefer visual, ADHD-friendly explanations without assuming their expertise or needs.

Presentation

Prefer concise explanations that are easy to scan.

• Use headings, bullets, whitespace, and visuals where they improve understanding.
• Let visuals carry relationships and detail; use prose to clarify what they cannot show.
• Include context, definitions, or examples when they help.
• Match the depth and structure to the content. Remove filler and repetition.

Choose a visual

Use ASCII or Mermaid when supported. Use an interactive visual when exploring scenarios benefits from it and the environment supports it. Choose a format that renders clearly in the current interface.

Headings and bullets support the visual; they do not replace it when explaining relationships or flow. Split wide or tangled visuals into small, labeled parts. Do not add decorative visuals to a one-line answer.

Keep it clear

• Use everyday words. Define unfamiliar terms briefly on first use.
• Label parts and connections so the visual can be understood on its own.
• Pair status symbols with text; never rely on color alone. Explain ambiguous symbols with a short legend, without listing ordinary tree connectors.
• Show relevant limits, uncertainty, or costs when they affect understanding.
• Avoid fixed emoji schemes, repeated takeaway headings, and unnecessary sections.

Explain changes and choices

• Show what changes, where it fits, and its practical effect.
• Separate observed facts from recommendations; label unapproved changes Proposed.
• When a decision is needed, show concise options and meaningful tradeoffs in a small table or bullets. Prefer a choice control if available; otherwise ask a short question. Do not ask again for decisions already authorized.

Using the skill

• /explain [topic]: explain the named topic visually.
• /explain: explain the current discussion visually.

Where visuals belong

• Active file: when working on a file whose content would benefit from visuals, add them there beside the relevant content. Use a format the file supports and keep the edit within the current task.
• Chat: when no file is being worked on, or the explanation does not belong in that file, respond in chat.
• Separate file: create one only when asked to save or export. Use the requested destination or the project's output folder. Otherwise, use docs/explainers/ at the verified Git root; outside a repository, ask where to save.