In my early 30s, I made a collage of how I wanted to work in the future. I still vividly remember the image of a guy sitting on a pier by the water with a laptop (a brand new thing at the time). The picture stuck with me. This was what I wanted to be doing: work from anywhere, and have complete autonomy over my professional life. 

One picture. It became such a powerful driver, because this is what I’ve been doing for the last 15+ years. It shows the impact of visual storytelling. You don’t need many words. 

Our visual memory regularly outperforms auditory memory. It allows for more detailed information to be stored and recalled. The brain processes visual information differently and more efficiently than auditory information, which is primarily rehearsed sequentially and prone to interference. Images can be processed as a whole, with all their complexity, rather than individual components, and our brain has a massive storage capacity for images overall, research shows. 

So, why not use this insight more in your business? I have applied visual storytelling - drawing, photos, cards - in so many different shapes and forms with my clients. It is most efficient in change processes: 

• Leadership teams envision the future of the business and know they’re talking about the same thing. Alignment comes through the visual process.
• Teams draw the journey of a transition from a future perspective. They see from their drawings what they need to do to overcome fears and roadblocks. It all comes to the surface and can then be dealt with.
• Leadership staff explore difficult situation and 'walk‘ into unknown territory in a safe space. The visuals facilitate options and solutions easily.

Try it out! It’s amazingly efficient.