Color movies were instantly more popular than the previous black and white variety. Children ask for stories to be told them but resist direct instruction. We remember what we see much better than what we merely hear. All these and more speak to the fact that communication is almost always best when aligned with the natural human tendency to think and learn in terms of stories.
Stories are more than just mere entertainment – they are the language of the imagination.
So don't be so quick to rush out your facts and figures, keep your platitudes and preachments in the holster, and quit with your pronouncements and proclamations. If you truly want to communicate, whether to a large audience or small, formally or informally, through the written word or spoken, you must realize the importance of creating a picture in the mind's eye(s) of your listener(s).
Example: When I was but a wee engineer just cutting my teeth in the profession, I had the good fortune to be thrown in with several elderly gentlemen who were extremely accomplished in the field. These guys were so good at technical things they actually conducted races to see who could solve complex puzzles and riddles the quickest. I was eager to learn all I could from such a wealth of experience all around me. Unfortunately, much of that wealth was inaccessible to me because I could never seem to catch much of what these men so casually reported. As a case in point there was a discussion one day in a meeting in which I asked a question of one of them. I was simply inquiring for a restatement of his conclusion to a complicated set of data he had presented – something along the lines of, "So would it be better to use Copper or Magnesium for this application?" I will never forget the reply. It wasn't "Copper." It wasn't "Magnesium." Nor was it "both" or "neither." Instead I was answered with something like this: "Well, if you look at the second column, copper is 67.98 and magnesium is 56.37." The reason his answer failed to answer, so to speak, was he was forcing me to construct my own picture from data that, although apparently clear and meaningful to him, was nothing more than numbers to me. I had no context in which to understand the meaning or magnitude of his numerical findings. In short, what I needed for him to do was paint me the picture, not give me the dimensions of the frame.
In the above paragraph, what have I done? I have given an illustration that (hopefully) demonstrates my point – the best communication is done through illustrations!
Communicate through stories. Bring your points to life with illustrations. Give examples wherever possible. Come up with analogies and similes and metaphors. I learned in a book by Stuart Olyott that the best preachers first state their message, then illustrate it, and then apply it practically to their listeners' lives. This is sage advice, not only for preachers, but also for everyone who wishes to communicate more effectively. Otherwise, all your knowledge and preparation and results and platitudes and conclusions will hardly even be heard – much less understood or long remembered. You'll be no more than a "Blah Blah Blah" to the Gingers in your life! (With a special salute to Gary Larsen)
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