The 25 Minute Meeting

CHAPTER 9 Think visual

In a series of experiments, Lightspeed, a digital data collection specialist, found that images could be processed at least twice as fast as the words used to describe them. Figure 9.1 shows an example.

Figure 9.1: processing times for images vs words

So, given that we are talking about halving the amount of time we spend in meetings, it is appropriate to look at ways we can use images to get our messages across faster.

Not only do we process visuals quicker, but we remember them longer. According to Richard Mayer in his book Multimedia Learning, if information is presented orally, we remember about 10 per cent three days later. However, if a picture is added in, that figure goes up to 65 per cent.

And, remember, a picture paints a thousand words. This is quite literal. Each letter you are reading now is actually a picture, and learning to read (in any language) involves teaching our brain to process each individual picture as a letter, then a bunch of them as a word, then a bunch of words into a sentence, and so on.

So, when we are reading a bunch of words on a slide, our brain has to process each of those letters and words into meaning, whereas when we show a picture, the brain recognises it immediately.

Our brains love pictures.

If you are working in virtual or distributed teams, it’s likely you will have at least one team member for whom English ...