Comments

I used the "picture is worth a thousand words" frequently until a colleague told me, "You are right. A picture is worth a thousand words. The only problem is they are a different thousand words for each one of us." Maybe Dan Roam fixes that with his book...

Posted by David Porter at March 13, 2008 4:40 PM

I'd love to see the napkin you used to explain capitalism to the University of Moscow student. What a great story! Congrats again on the launch of the book!

Posted by Shelley Dolley at March 13, 2008 4:42 PM

I am really glad this is becoming a little more mainstream - although I am not sure there is much new here - Facilitators and coaches have been using picture drawing etc in sessions for years. It even permiated the very logical world of systems analysis in the late 80s with "Rich Pictures"

I agree with David's comments and I have found that the picture is more often the catalyst for discussion rather than the whole message. The example in the interview about the reluctant participant scrawling all over the picture sums this up.

Pictures really allow people to open up and express stuff that they perhaps wouldn't easily do - it's then a short step to talking about it. I also love the dynamic energy you get in a room with people on their feet, drawing, commenting, redrawing, trying to find a marker with a better smell etc.

Posted by PaulH at March 14, 2008 12:24 AM

Hi Tom,

I have been trying to get my company to implement a simple visualization based approach to communicate ideas. Unfortunately company egos get in the way of rational decision making.

Jacob

Posted by Jacob Morgan at March 14, 2008 11:19 AM

Pictures and exhibits and graphics are extremely VITAL, in my case, to reinforce and facilitate what I am trying to communicate. I believe that Arquimedes stressed the relevance of adding illustrations to his workings. Leonardo did so extensively. He’s a prime example of this.

The book REIMAGINE by Tom Peters does this splendidly. You seem to be holding a text book of the future with a plethora of pleasant colors, shapes, forms, symbols, and, above all, messages.

Leading The Revolution by Gary Hamel (Strategos Chairman and Professor at The London Business School) is similar to that of Tom’s. Tom has reminded his audiences to “think in slides.” This aids the thinking process immeasurably.

MindMaps by Dr. Tony Buzan is extremely fun and so pervasive. I find it so tedious to read a great book made up of only words, without frequent illustration.

Posted by Andres Agostini at March 14, 2008 1:59 PM

Common Craft have used simple pictures to great effect to explain wikis, blogs, rss, twitter, social networking - in their Plain English series videos.

Posted by Nicola Avery at March 14, 2008 4:44 PM

Visual is very exciting
what if we could add taste, smell, touch as well as visual and sound to our meetings?????

Posted by PaulH at March 15, 2008 2:31 AM

Having been an opera singer (and later jazz singer) since my early youth, creating images to understand the functions that I could not see that go into creating sounds, I understand the importance of images; I understand the importance of visual thinking. But without words to envision the functionality of the vocal folds, the expanding rib cage, the lungs, the facial cavities, and the air (which does not have a shape or form), it would be impossible to conceive.

There is no problem of envisioning each of these functions separately, outside of the act of singing; this is no problem as we have seen a rib cages or lungs in photographs. But producing the sound (better yet the appropriate tone), requires both words and images. From this standpoint, I could easily see the importance of visual thinking for without it, I could not effectively produce various pitches, tones, and qualities required to make a musical phrase interesting.

The mind’s eye also plays a powerful role. In order for me to change the pitch and to create a tone or series of tones befitting of a particular character or style, I have to see it in my mind’s eye first in order to produce it. I actually envision the breath, the expansion of the lungs, and the focal point of the air in order to create an operatic phrase or jazz improvisation, if only seconds before. While the process may seem tedious, over time it becomes second nature, though it changes depending on the demands of the operatic role or intricacies of the jazz piece. Others also influence the process and this made me think of the various colors that make up the whole.

That said… the process of visual thinking in problem-solving is great! It goes beyond words, though words are necessary to capture the image, even after the image is drawn. The mind’s eye varies with each person and this is what makes solving problems interesting and creative. Though all singers have the same functions that enable vocal production, how they appear in the mind’s eye of the singer and the timing of each will matter in producing the sound. I have studied with the best teachers and vocal coaches worldwide and the pictures that they would evoke worked for some students and not for others.

The beauty of visual thinking is getting the diversity of the mind’s eye of each team member, rooted in inner images that express how we do what we do that when we do it. This makes the difference in problem-solving. It has been proven that pictures aide children with self-expression when it is difficult for them to express themselves. But the process eventually leads to self-expression through words. Pictures are important, but the way in which we best communicate is through words spoken or signed. Words and pictures, however, aide each other as my many years of vocal study and performance have taught me.

I love it that there are various colors distinguishing how it is that we approach and solve problems and the necessity of this variety. It’s funny… as I read through this section of the interview, I was trying to see which color would best describe me. Was I a black, yellow or red? I could not readily identify with the black or yellow colors. But when I got to the red, the highlighter, I could immediately identify with it. But I am just as creative as I am analytical. I guess there are always variances in everything.

Posted by Judith Ellis at March 16, 2008 7:11 PM

Or, as I've advised people before: Stuck? Go play that old low-tech, non business game - Pictionary. Then come back to the problem. Gets the imagination to going. ("That's a cat?")

Posted by Mary Schmidt at March 17, 2008 9:52 AM

Mary...I love it!

paypal viagra in canada Posted by Judith Ellis at March 17, 2008 10:08 AM

When I had to choose between Electronics and Biology for my pre-university courses in India, I chose Electronics and one of the reasons was that Biology would mean a LOT of drawings.

Since then I had believed that drawing was tough.

I met Dan at the 800-CEO-READ Pow-Wow event and Dan changed that opinion for me right during our meeting and then through his book.

Since then I have tried my best to draw on my blog to support my ideas and it has DEFINITELY helped.

Here are some more wishes to Dan for all the success with the book.

Cheers,
Raj

Posted by Rajesh Setty at March 31, 2008 4:36 AM