Sometimes words are not enough. Words – that lovely collection of pre-ordained letters – don’t always work best. 

Don’t believe me, word addicts? Then try this little quiz. Question 1. What do you do when someone cuts you off when you are driving? Do you a.) Have a long chat with yourself about the lack of driver courtesy  b.) Pull to the side of the road and ring the Joe Duffy show c.) Flash your lights and give the driver a two-fingered salute. d.) Write down the driver’s plate number and get their address from a friend who is a member of the Garda.

Question 2. Which symbol evokes a strong emotional response when you see it? a.) The zebra crossing sign b.) A question mark c.) The cross d.) The swastika

Question 3. Would you rather learn about the history of the current financial meltdown from a five-page Wall Street Journal article or watch a video on YouTube that explains it in less than five minutes?

Question 4. How long do PowerPoint slides with words on them hold your attention? a.) 5 minutes b.) 1 minute c.) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz d.) Depends on the speaker’s physical attributes.

The quiz questions demonstrate the undeniable power of the gesture, symbol, picture and of our shortening attention spans.

The cliché is true: a picture (or visual representation of an idea) can say a thousand words. What’s new about this? Well, an emerging school of thought – visual thinking – believes that pictures can do much more. “Pictures have the power to transform the world, because they can convey rich information to anyone, regardless of culture, language or educational background.”

Those are the words of visual thinking’s top evangelist, Dave Gray of Xplane in San Francisco (communicationnation.blogspot.com) Once upon a time Gray was a visual journalist. (We don’t really do visual journalism in Ireland. Photo editors are the closest things we have to them.) In the US of Amerikay visual journalists are the ones who come up with the best ways to illustrate a story – photo, chart, diagram, table, montage or other graphic element. 

A visual journalist might illustrate an article about a hold-up in a bank with a diagram and timeline of events. It might be a map showing how the robbers entered the bank, where people were held, when injuries or deaths occurred, when the SWAT team arrived, when the Incredible Hulk broke down the door and saved everyone.

The graphic is usually designed as an add-on to the story but it can also be read as a standalone piece. The difference between the article and the illustration is that the message is communicated instantly.

Writers. Can’t. Do. That.

Reading takes too long.

For some reason the brain picks up on visual clues faster. If a person draws their finger across their neck you know you are in for it. It doesn’t take a minute or so for the thought to register, it’s an instant hit of information.

Symbols are a powerful part of the visual language vocabulary. The peace sign, sickle and crescent moon are loaded with both meaning and emotion. For communities with no exposure to them they mean absolutely nothing.

Symbols can also call the viewer to immediate action. If you see a stop sign while driving it’s likely that its meaning, and the action you are required to take, registers straight away: “Hit the brake, quick!”

Visuals help the brain skip a step. If you read an article like this one your eyes read the text, the brain obtains meaning from the collection of words and then it delivers back some understanding. If you are distracted – or my writing is boring you to tears – then the understanding part gets lost.

The visual thinking community (www.vizthink.com) knows that visual information is now more interesting to us than verbal information. Generations born since the 1960s grew up on a diet of television and the Internet not just radio, books and storytelling. 

New technologies reinforce this preference as we communicate faster using fewer words. Emails are shorter than letters and phone calls. Twitter, the giant instant messaging tool, only allows 140 characters, an average of maybe 20 words.

The visual thinking philosophy is not just about communicating messages quickly and clearly. It is also about solving complex problems using pictures. Mind maps opened the door for visual thinking in a corporate setting. Today, some of the top companies in the world are using illustrators rather than minute-takers at big strategy meetings.

Forget what your teachers said: doodlers may just change the world.

Margaret E. Ward is an Irish Times columnist and managing director of Clear Ink. If you are interested in developing a VizThink Europe group in Dublin please contact Margaret@clearink.ie.

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