Many times, executives don’t know how to get their people on board and engaged in the process of implementing a new strategy. Largely this is because leaders underestimate the importance of a story to help people make sense of the world. Storytelling is a powerful method for creating broader understanding. In fact, a research report from Professor Allan Fels, AO, Dean of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, found that 70% of what we learn is consumed through storytelling.

So, if people acquire knowledge largely through storytelling, then why do leaders of organizations persist in ignoring that approach in helping to get their employees on board with a new strategy? When leaders add visual storytelling into the mix, the difference in speed of understanding could increase exponentially.

Why is this? Because humans not only learn through storytelling, but we also think visually. From the earliest days of humans, in cave paintings like those in El Castillo and Chauvet, we have been using drawings to tell stories. Today, visual stories help organizations take dry and abstract numbers or disparate information and turn it into meaningful knowledge. At the core of good story telling is the ability to condense that information into a compact package with context, meaning, and emotion. Visual storytelling gets people more engaged and helps make the information more memorable. It accelerates understanding and forms a fast, consistent, common language for organizations to get and keep their people engaged.

Watch this short video to learn the three key areas where visualization can improve business results.

Every business has a story to tell… what’s your organization’s story?

 

October 3, 2012

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