Picture It!!
Getting that important message across can be such a challenge. We search for the right words, for that tagline. How can we make this message sink in? How do we make it last past the moment?
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in finding the right words, that we forget the importance of visual cues. When we present, we need to understand the medium for the moment. and sometimes a picture does tell it all.
My brother Tim is really good at this. There is a cartoon that Tim uses in his presentations when he looks to motivate his audience to reach beyond themselves. It is a cartoon of the cowboy, Lucky Luke. Lucky Luke is looking at his shadow on the fence before him and the shadow has a bullet hole in it because the legend of Lucky Luke is that he is faster than his shadow, and therefore beats his shadow in a duel. Tim puts that cartoon picture up and says this is what it means to stretch to be the best. Fast isn't fast enough; be faster than your shadow. Good customer service isn't good enough. Be the equivalent of faster than your shadow.
At the end of his presentations, when it is time for Q&A, Tim knows that sometimes it is hard for that first audience question to get asked. So he uses a visual - His Q&A slide has a picture of a rabbit with a pancake on his head. It doesn't take long for someone in the audience to ask about the rabbit with the pancake on his head and Tim says "It means nothing but at least we now have that awkward first question out of the way!"
Words matter. But know when a good visual can help you make that point!
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in finding the right words, that we forget the importance of visual cues. When we present, we need to understand the medium for the moment. and sometimes a picture does tell it all.
My brother Tim is really good at this. There is a cartoon that Tim uses in his presentations when he looks to motivate his audience to reach beyond themselves. It is a cartoon of the cowboy, Lucky Luke. Lucky Luke is looking at his shadow on the fence before him and the shadow has a bullet hole in it because the legend of Lucky Luke is that he is faster than his shadow, and therefore beats his shadow in a duel. Tim puts that cartoon picture up and says this is what it means to stretch to be the best. Fast isn't fast enough; be faster than your shadow. Good customer service isn't good enough. Be the equivalent of faster than your shadow.
At the end of his presentations, when it is time for Q&A, Tim knows that sometimes it is hard for that first audience question to get asked. So he uses a visual - His Q&A slide has a picture of a rabbit with a pancake on his head. It doesn't take long for someone in the audience to ask about the rabbit with the pancake on his head and Tim says "It means nothing but at least we now have that awkward first question out of the way!"
Words matter. But know when a good visual can help you make that point!
Comments
Post a Comment