The metaphor technique jumped out at me, because when someone is explaining something to me, I like to respond with an analogy to check my understanding. Most people seem to respond by "Yeah, I suppose, but not exactly." Some people respond by saying "No", and then repeating the original explanation (as distinct from "No; here are the differences"). A few people respond by discussing the analogy, which is easily the most productive way of explaining something I've ever encountered. It's certainly much more efficient than the popular "deluge of examples" method.

There's a very strong tendency for smarter people to tend toward discussion, though by no means is it black-and-white.