It’s never about the most perfect picture, it’s about the messy and sometimes frustrating attempt to get everyone on the same page. Everyone has had a taste of it: You sit in a meeting and try to explain a concept. Colleagues use the same words in reply, but they still don’t get it! And in the course of the discussion, your ingenious idea gets watered down and eventually discarded. 

When collaborating with others, especially across silos, generations, and cultures, visuals can make a huge difference. They help with alignment. They facilitate an entirely different conversation, so people find common ground much more easily. They create more engagement and boost motivation. Together with the brilliant Meena Julien, we recently offered a workshop on visual storytelling at the Santander Work Café. The only prop that the participants used were their phones.

In just under 1.5 hours, they had to pitch the answer to an abstract question: „Why should we collaborate?“ They took photos in their immediate environment which, to them, explained an aspect of collaboration. And through the pictures entered into an exchange about value, opportunities, and connection. „It’s surprising“, said Shirley. „How everything around me is suddenly charged with meaning. It makes communication so much easier.“ 

Very playful - Great for leadership skills - Will take it into my team. 

Visual storytelling for collaboration is very different from the way imagery is used in marketing, and, by the way, a lot less painful. When using visuals for collaboration, a spontaneous snapshot is good enough. What matters are the qualities an image transports for the person who is communicating through it. A single image can hold highly complex information, and is processed by the human brain with high efficiency. You see it, you feel it - and engage on another level. Not too many words needed.