Making a Talk Memorable – Part 2: Illustrations
“A picture is worth a thousand words.”
This is probably a statement you have heard, no pun intended, over a thousand times. Attributed to advertising executive Fred R. Barnard, the implications of this statement are easy to figure out. While you can spend minutes or hours pouring out hundreds of words to make your point, a picture can often have the same impact with just a glance.
But what difference does that make when you’re a speaker attempting to convey an idea through a talk, lesson, business pitch, or message?
For some, maybe even you, this may seem frustrating. You may be one who meticulously develops a talk, agonizing over every word and idea to be shared. Only to have some right-brained person draw an image that explains the concept as well, or better so that everyone can understand it at a glance.
For example, the image above was drawn by Drew Dodd, who was my Student Minister at the time. We were at a conference and, by doing some casual doodling, expressed the entire workshop on half a page.
My brain doesn’t work that way.
However, that is not to say that even a left-brained-dominant person such as me cannot employ illustrations and visual aids to help drive home the meaning of my talk. Here, then, are three questions that you might be able to use to help identify an illustration for your next presentation.
Where do I see my idea in practice?Imagine you are instructing on the topic of safety at a construction site. While most understand the importance of securing tools, use of hard hats, etc, some see the practice as unnecessary and overly cautious. Imagine having three kleenexes on every chair in the room as people come in. While you’ll get some questions, ask them to hold onto the items until your talk. Then, while in your talk, take a moment to explain how kleenexes are often used to teach juggling. And, having everyone stand up, you want them to try their hand at juggling for the first time.
Such an activity would only need to take 60-90 seconds. Yet, you can ask how many of them dropped something they intended to hang onto. Chances are high a majority of them have. The idea can then be driven home how the use of something like a hard hat is most important, not because you might make a mistake, but because you work with a lot of people who might.
Where do I see the opposite of my idea?Similar to the example above, an illustration can be offered about where someone disregarded safety procedures and the result was catastrophic. However, be cautious with the use of such examples as a gruesome story or image can overshadow anything you want to say.
Still, examples and illustrations where someone did NOT plan, did NOT take appropriate measures, or did NOT do what you are speaking about can drive home the importance of your idea.
How might I compare my idea?In a locker room, you might see an image of an iceberg with the caption “success.” Chances are good you would recognize that image to represent how the unseen work (the part of the iceberg that is under the water) is vaster and more important than that which is visible. Illustrations like this are common, and certainly available for your talk.
However, you will likely find greater impact using illustrations and connections that are not as well-known.
As a pastor, you can speak about the word for sin coming from an archery term meaning, “to miss the mark.”As a motivational speaker, you can carry around a crate to then stand on and proclaim how Shakespeare said, “All the world is a stage!”As a grief counselor, you can place an object inside a balloon and, while incrementally inflating the balloon, demonstrate how we will “bounce up” against grief less and less over time, even if it never goes away.If you naturally have a strong ability to see relationships and make connections, this may come easily for you. Of course, you can always ask a friend who can help you in this way.
So how about you? What are some of the methods you use to determine illustrations, examples, and visual aids for your talks?
