The first step in solving the equation \( 20 = 6x - 4 \) for \( x \) is to add 4 to both sides. This will eliminate the -4 on the right side of the equation.
So the equation will look like this:
\[ 20 + 4 = 6x - 4 + 4 \]
Which simplifies to:
\[ 24 = 6x \]
After this, you can divide both sides by 6 to solve for \( x \).