The Power of a One-Page: "Infographic" your Communications
How many times have you heard "let's all get on the same page" and then sit through a thirty-page PowerPoint with paragraphs of information? If there is one thing that I have learned from consulting on strategy and projects, is how valuable it can be to distill complicated information down to a one-page; this will genuinely get everyone on the "same page".
As a leader, I have often found myself at a whiteboard "explaining" a problem with a picture. This process was not only helpful for the person I was speaking to but for me also. It turns out that drawing a picture was a simple and straightforward way to articulate a concept. I was always amazed how many times we would refer to and revise this "whiteboard picture" for further understanding or gain alignment. Now I understand that a useful one-page "infographic" can be the key to a strategy or project's success or failure.
A useful one-page "infographic" can be the key to a strategy or project's success or failure.
Communicate to Everyone in Your Audience
Everyone is busy, and more than ever, people have shorter attention spans. This is not a criticism of our society but acknowledging the reality of the hectic schedules and multiple priorities that a typical day includes. This time deficit is no different for the C-Suite executives than for the accounting or maintenance department employees. So why do we continue to overload everyone with information that they will not digest?
No different than external customers, employees are "internal customers," and we need to ensure that communication is at the core of excellent customer experience. According to the Forbes Article "Business Communication in the Customer Experience Era," some of the most important aspects of good customer communication are to leverage data, personalize the data, align your teams, and request feedback. Why shouldn't the management and employees within your company be treated the same way? The difficulty is not in the desire to communicate, but the ability to communicate effectively.
Start using a One-Page "Infographic"
Leaders and managers need to take a tip from online marketing where "infographics" are used to convey important and complex information for understanding and consistency. We all have heard the saying that a "picture is worth a thousand words," so it makes sense that a carefully designed graphic that combines both pictures and text is a powerful way to communicate your message.
Here is why we would rather look at an infographic than read text:
90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual
Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text
40% of people will respond better to visual information than plain text
90% of all human communication is visual
People remember 80% of what they see and do
People only remember 20% of what they read and only 10% of what they hear
Images stick in long-term memory
If you don't believe me, now read this same list of information in this infographic from Intelligent Marketing article Infographics Are Good for Business and decide for yourself:
The graphic below is from Sh!ft – Disruptive eLearning's article Studies Confirm the Power of Visuals to Engage Your Audience in eLearning. This graphic demonstrates how our brains are pre-wired to automatically interpret relationships between objects, allowing for almost instant comprehension with minimal effort.
According to Dr. John Medina in his book Brain Rules, only 10% of people typically recall a piece of information when quizzed three days after learning it, but that figure jumps to 65% when an image accompanies the information. So why do leaders still insist on lengthy emails and messages when they want people to understand their message?
Applying the "one-page" Leadership Skill
OK, now that you know that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual and 65% of people will retain information when accompanied by an image, here are a few tips on how to apply this knowledge:
Communicate key concepts and plans with a one-page infographic. Even if you have a detailed presentation, use this graphic to introduce, explain and anchor your idea.
Use formats of the same infographic in all your communications. A simple visual message that is understandable to everyone in the company, from the CEO to the floor-worker helps to create alignment
Use data and analytics to create "Dashboards." A useful dashboard is actually a dynamic "infographic" of your business.
Use before and after infographics to communicate change. If you are introducing change to an organization or process and want to create a strong vision of your plan or strategy, then create "as-is" and "to-be" infographics. The visual change will help people to comprehend the actual change.
If your plans change, then change your infographic to show the difference. This will allow everyone to see how and why things have changed vs. the mixed message that "every year is a different plan," so who cares.
Final words from a Chinese Proverb:
"I hear and I forget; I see, and I remember."