If a picture is worth a thousand words, why do so many of us insist on a thousand words alone?Visuals transcend language barriers, push thinking in new directions, engage audiences, pinpoint the essence of lessons or conversations, and clarify misconceptions. Simply put: they make our thoughts visible. Whether you're in a school setting or place of business, visual thinking strategies can drive collective understanding and engagement. Plus, studies show that information is recalled exponentially more when paired with visuals than without them. So why wouldn't you use visuals
Wendi Pillars can’t stop thinking in pictures. She has been an educator for more than two decades in both military and civilian settings—overseas and stateside—with learners of all ages, from toddlers to adults. She uses visuals to explain, clarify, ease anxiety and add humor, finding that this inspires others to be creative, encourages new ways of thinking and fuels the leap from abstract thoughts to concrete action steps. Her new book, Visual Impact: Transform Communication in Your Boardroom, Classroom, or Living Room, is an A-Z reference guide full of original illustrations that complement and/or supplement the text on the facing pages. The idea is to help readers fully visualize ideas, see different styles and have a starting point to create their own visuals.
I had a chance to learn more in this interview.
Why did you write this book? Ever wish you could find a book that compiles important ideas and perspectives around a particular topic? That's what this book is for me. I've used visual thinking in my classroom for decades, with all ages of learners and I've presented at educator and organizational workshops around the country. Many of the topics in my book stem from questions and concerns I've heard repeatedly over the years during these workshops and it quite simply became the book I needed to have written. It's also something I'm passionate about and believe deeply in; using it as a go-to strategy to connect and communicate with others, to clarify complex ideas, confirm understanding, expand thinking, and so much more has been
Most people know by now that visuals should be used in presentations - what are some ways that they're often used incorrectly? Random visuals, pictures that are stock photos, or ones that might have cultural nuances not shared by everyone in your audience can be detrimental and distract from your message. Memes with motion and text can also distract from your information and even your tone.
Here are three ways to solve this challenge:
1). Creating visuals in front of others taps into a sense of wonderment--where is she going with this? How does she interpret x, y, z...?--and thus engages minds in a different way than passively viewing a stock photo.
2) Additionally, if you as a presenter create a simple visual to represent the essence of your message, you yourself will be forced to consider it in a new light, through a different lens, and with renewed impetus to make it all the clearer.
3) Providing space and opportunity for your audience to delve into their own thinking in intervals throughout a presentation will ensure more active engagement. There may be some resistance at first, but visual thinking can be as simple as a smiley face in the margin of a paper, something more collaborative to tell the story of their supply chain (for example) within small groups, or something more public where brainstorming occurs on larger paper in front of others with real-time feedback. The beauty of visual thinking is that there is no single right way for it to look or be, but the more that others are engaged in the process of creating, ideating, and experimenting, the better.
How can parents capture the power of visuals? Parents can begin with young children--they love to create and imagine which are precious gifts not to be squandered. Since you're asking me about this right now, I've got to say that screen-time needs to be limited. Or nixed. I work with students every single day, and it's evident many are not used to being told to put their phones away. If students spend just 60 minutes on their phones daily (the average of my students is around 8-9 hours a day!), they will lose 15 days of their life within a year. 15 days with 60 minutes of phone time! Whoa.
The brain needs time to think. The brain needs time to wander. Most of all, our childrens' brains need time to think their own ideas without input from everyone else's ideas (ie. social media). Screens and phones don't require true intellectual give and take. My suggestion would be to always have some "tools" handy, colored pencils, a sketchpad or notebook, some crayons or markers. Encourage creativity. Engage with them. Please tell them that creating is experimenting and you can't fail when you're experimenting. Be silly and make mistakes into new images. Play music in the background and draw along with them. Watch a how-to-draw video on YouTube. Create a logo, an imaginary animal, their dream home, what success looks like for them in school, after graduation, and in life. The ideas are endless, but the point is clear: we as parents must hold a clear line for our children and their time on screens. That type of powerful visual is depressingly passive and our brains need something far more active to be happy and fulfilled. In my experience students are not always able to limit their own screen time desires. Their default is to open their phones rather than sit in stillness with their own thoughts.
As parents, we are ideally modeling the behavior and virtues we want from our children; let's all put our phones down and generate visuals to capture the world around us in unique ways...before that time is lost.
About the Author
As a curiositarian and lifeaholic, Wendi Pillars thrives on thinking creatively and communicating visually to get to the heart of any message. A consummate explorer of ideas, cultures and people, she enjoys crafting concepts that add a cognitive push and being able to share that with others. She is an award-winning lifelong educator with experience teaching, learning and living across the globe, as well as a love for languages, writing and our planet. She can always be found immersed in some sort of project or creative endeavor, ideally one that empowers others to create and think differently, or serves a community need. She currently lives in North Carolina with her 16-year-old son, rescue cat and dog, and beloved bees. Pillars is also the author of Visual Notetaking for Educators: A Teacher’s Guide to Student Creativity.
For more information, please visit www.sketchmorethinkmore.com, or follow the author on Instagram (sketchmore_thinkmore) or Twitter @wendi322).
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