In art class we were asked to draw a familiar object.  I picked something simple.  A tire.  No one could recognize it. And yet, after reading The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures I was able to draw a description of SmartPartnering and another on storyboarding.

Let people literally see your idea to adopt it faster or to buy.  Read this fun book by Dan Roam.  Dan gives you a method based on our six ways of seeing:1. who/what    2. how much   3. where   4. when   5. how    6. why. These ways affect each step in our visually thinking/creating process:
1.    Identify the topic/issue
2.    Develop an idea/approach, to
3.    Express a solution.

Herb Kelleher intuited this approach when he used a bar napkin to show investors how Southwest Airlines could beat competitors.

I thought of Dan’s book when Ellen spoke to me after my session at the IABC conference in New York last week. Her firm, Cognac shows that even complex topics can be understood in ten minutes or less – with the right “big picture” image.   Since our brains retain visual information much better (David Melcher says 89% more) than text, this is mighty good news.

Even better, hear Dan lead a teleseminar on July 9th. It’s free.  And he’ll be joined by several bright minds: Seth Godin, Anil Dash and Rich Sloan.

Also hear my interviews with two other gurus in the fast–growing field of visual thinking, Lee LeFever and David Sibbet. Here’s Carl Gude’s visual shorthand for politics.

Ok. If you are still not comfortable drawing your own explanation, to illustrate your text, here’s some free resources for drawings, clipart and photos suggested by Meryl Evans.

Or discover simple ways to make and distribute “how to” videos.

By the way you can hear BlogTalkRadio’s John Havens interview me at IABC.