To solve the equation \( 20 = 6x - 4 \) for \( x \), the first step is to isolate the term containing \( x \). You can do this by adding \( 4 \) to both sides of the equation.
So, the first step is:
\[ 20 + 4 = 6x - 4 + 4 \]
This simplifies to:
\[ 24 = 6x \]
From here, you can solve for \( x \) by dividing both sides by \( 6 \).