How Understandability Can Be Measured: Introducing the Matrix That Changes Everything

Can we actually measure how understandable someone is in English?

Yes—and this video shows you how.

Introducing the Understandability Matrix—a two-axis framework built around:
• Intelligibility (can the words be transcribed accurately?)
• Comprehensibility (how much effort does it take to follow the message?)

Using listener transcription and a simple rating scale, we plot speakers into one of four quadrants—revealing strengths, blind spots, and clear next steps.

Most professionals I’ve worked with fall in Quadrant 3: highly intelligible, but harder to follow.

The top-right? That’s where we find readily understandable speakers—and that’s where we’re headed.

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