Visual communication

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Visual communication is a module in visual thinking school, a course designed to help you learn how to think and communicate better using the visual part of your brain.

Improving your visual communication skills will make your messages more clear, concise and consistent. A picture is worth a thousand words, and the better you can get at communicating with pictures, the better you will be understood.

Visual communication skills include your ability to interpret body language, present information effectively, as well as your seeing and drawing skills.

Links from Communication Nation 

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What is your facial expression saying? 

e&d by bike queen

e&d

automatically generated by Flickr

Visual thinking practice 

Expressing emotion
In this exercise you'll see how drawing facial expressions can help you understand them better. You'll also enhance your observation and visual communication skills.
Bossman/geek
Can you capture the dichotomies of your corporate culture in a single picture? Sure you can!

What is your body language saying? 

Your body language conveys more than you may be aware. Whether you are happy or cranky, you broadcast your emotions by the way that you sit, stand and move. Your level of enthusiasm and participation in any group activity is easy to gauge, even from a distance.

"I Got A Fee-ee-Ling" / Noel Night Celebration Detroit Public Library Main Branch by j/k_lolz

"I Got A Fee-ee...

Barefoot Girl Dancing Alone / Photoshopped Jpeg by j/k_lolz

Barefoot Girl Dancin...

Stalking the Elusive Salinger / Troy, MI Friends of Library Used Bookstore by j/k_lolz

Stalking the Elusive...

TWINS by ZOBEL *

TWINS

Tom Looking Into the Future by Lili Vieira de Carvalho

Tom Looking Into the...

Jovana Having Fun by Lili Vieira de Carvalho

Jovana Having Fun

Left Behind by She Said Unprintable Things

Left Behind

Body Language @ Highline Ballroom 10-26 by JaroMcDowell

Body Language @ High...

Body Language @ Highline Ballroom 10-26 by JaroMcDowell

Body Language @ High...

automatically generated by Flickr

Visual thinking practice 

Go to a public place. Take note of peoples' body language, and see if you can capture the essence of their emotion by drawing simple stick figures.

Doing this will improve your skills of observation and also fine-tune your ability to "read" the body language of others.

Visual presentations 

Research shows that when ideas are presented with pictures they have greater emotional impact and are easier to remember. When you present ideas to others, do you stimulate their visual senses?

Clojure presentation - waiting by avlxyz

Clojure presentation...

Tabebuia aurea by Tatters:)

Tabebuia aurea

IMG_9766 by jeanbaptisteparis

IMG_9766

IMG_9734 by jeanbaptisteparis

IMG_9734

IMG_9705 by jeanbaptisteparis

IMG_9705

IMG_9674 by jeanbaptisteparis

IMG_9674

IMG_9684 by jeanbaptisteparis

IMG_9684

IMG_9699 by jeanbaptisteparis

IMG_9699

IMG_9680 by jeanbaptisteparis

IMG_9680

automatically generated by Flickr

What people are presenting right now 

flow one by LKaestner

flow one

seleziona by fabriziocolors

seleziona

Prepare presentation by fabriziocolors

Prepare presentation

from paper to computer by fabriziocolors

from paper to comput...

Corso Presentazioni Efficaci by fabriziocolors

Corso Presentazioni...

Design in powerpoint by fabriziocolors

Design in powerpoint

Preparazionde delle slide by fabriziocolors

Preparazionde delle...

Avanti così by fabriziocolors

Avanti così

Thinking group by fabriziocolors

Thinking group

automatically generated by Flickr

Links from Presentation Zen 

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Visual thinking practice 

Design a PowerPoint presentation with index cards

Next time you make a PowerPoint presentation, make a paper prototype before you create it on the computer.

1. Get a stack of index cards. On each card, write down one of the points you want to make. Each card should contain a complete thought.

2. Now on your desk or tabletop, see if you can arrange the cards into three main groups. This is a way to organize your presentation into three high-level talking points.

3. Eliminate any cards that seem unnecessary or redundant.

4. Now lay the cards out in a linear sequence and revise until you like the order and flow.

5. Now you can create the presentation in PowerPoint with confidence in the story structure.

6. See if you can get away from bullet points by finding compelling visuals to illustrate each slide.

Communication delicacies 

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Learn more about visual communication 

Understanding Body Language (Barron's Business Success Guides)

Amazon Price: (as of 12/17/2009) Buy Now

Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists

Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 12/17/2009) Buy Now

You Are the Message

Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 12/17/2009) Buy Now

Visual communication links 

Learn to read and write Japanese smileys
In Japan, smileys are an art form.
Are people receiving what you're transmitting?
Chris Brogan makes some great points on the difference between message sent and message received. He also offers some good questions to ask yourself before you communicate.
The seven C's of communication design
Designing your communication is an iterative process. It begins at a high level, with good questions and good listening; and ends in details; constructing a presentation, document, system or user experience. You can improve your communication by thinking about seven "C's" of communication design: The seven C's lay out a simple sequence which can help you start broadly and work your way down to specifics.
It's time to move away from presentation mode
Let's start moving from presentations to conversations.
Lines of communication
A free map showing the lines of communication in business.
The corporate hip-hop presentation style
Dick Hardt of Sxip completely captivates his audience with great visuals, great storytelling, and great timing. His presentation has a staccato, rhythmic quality, like a kind of corporate hip-hop.
Attention = time
Attention is time, as in 'where I choose to spend my time.' This is why this concept (whether we call it 'attention' or 'time' or what have you) is fundamental.
What's your preferred communication mode?
Improve your chances of being understood.
Seven steps to better presentations
Adaptive Path's Jeff Veen on how to give an effective presentation
How to listen
If you want to be a better communicator learn to listen, and more importantly, listen to learn.
How to measure your communication effectiveness
Do you set understanding goals for your important communications? Most people don't. Here's how to do it.
How to make better presentations with story templates and storyboards
If you use PowerPoint, check out a couple of free online courses:

Story Template 101

The PowerPoint Storyboard 101
Presentation tips from Japan
Read about some innovative methods from presentation masters of Japan:

The Takahashi method

The Monta method
How to present like Steve Jobs
What makes Steve Jobs such a great presenter? It's not complicated, and, with practice, you can do the same things he does to make your presentations more effective.
Is PowerPoint good or evil?
PowerPoint. People either love it or hate it. There is no doubt that Powerpoint has had an influence on the world -- but is it a positive one or a negative one? And who decides? See what the experts say.

Next mini-course module 

Visual vocabulary
Visual language, like written and spoken language, has developed over time. Your visual vocabulary is the set of elements, or visual "words" that make visual language possible. The greater your vocabulary, the greater your capacity to think and communicate.
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by dgray

Dave Gray is the founder and CEO of XPLANE, the visual thinking company. The company's vision was formed and continues to be driven by Dave's passion...

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