The process for making tacit knowledge explicit is externalization. One case is the articulation of one’s
own tacit knowledge - ideas or images in words, metaphors, analogies. A second case is eliciting and
translating the tacit knowledge of others - customer, experts for example - into a readily understandable
form, e.g., explicit knowledge. Dialogue is an important means for both. During such face-to-face
communication people share beliefs and learn how to better articulate their thinking, though
instantaneous feedback and the simultaneous exchange of ideas. Externalization is a process among
individuals within a group.