The visual nature of the world and its communication method has become more of a necessity now, with the explosion of more and more Big Data. Consumers are leaned towards a visual experience and prefer visual search capabilities more than ever. Which is why businesses are also preferring visual communication for better customer experience and employee training.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!
The world has gone digital. It has also gone visual. And there’s no stopping to it. Visual commerce has enabled customers to have a near-life, immersive experience that brings a better conversion rate and increased sales. And post-pandemic, we have become even more prone to visual and online experiences to connect with our audience and keep the businesses running.
Leaders in every industry and sector are putting an accelerated effort in imbibing visual interaction and training into their business operations. Whether a marketer is looking for new leads to acquire, or a manager is searching for ways to align a new team with the existing organizational processes, communicating through visuals imageries is the best idea.
With the rapid rise of YouTube videos, Facebook Live and Reels, Instagram stories, we are now psychologically conditioned to absorb information visually. And when it comes to internal communication within any organization, communicating with the support of visuals and graphics provide significant advantages for both employees and their managers.
The Digital Means of Conveying Messages Across
In this digital-first world, most of the information shared is dominated by videos and other visual interactive media. Leaving behind the 90s, where texts meant everything, visuals now cansignificantly boost your business bottomline.
We are now using several tools for seamless video conferences and online training modules. Webinars have been popular more than ever, owing to the convenience and super-fast Internet connectivity. And all of these transformations have been possible through digital means of communication.
For businesses, too, annual reports have turned into Infographic-style data visualization, old-school brochures are getting replaced by visually enticing presentation decks. So apart from being an excellent marketing tool, visual communication has also been proved to be an excellent mode of internal training events. And there are stats to prove this claim, as the human brain remembers almost 80% of what they see even after 32 seconds, compared to what they hear.
This is a vital statistic that further solidifies the power of visuals as effective communication tools. The biggest workforce segment is now made up of individuals under 40; the millennials and Gen Z find it easier to access training materials if presented visually. They also prefer video learning to be included in training sessions for greater retention.
Visual Communication in Employee Training Programmes
Managers can incorporate visual training for any topic they want to cover. Whether it is about training for a process, an induction, or educating them regarding a new product, managers can create an efficient visual-first strategy.
In order to build a robust workplace, HR managers must strive for alternate ways to disseminate data amongst employees and departments. If someone wonders about the impact of visual communication in internal as well as external interactions, keep scrolling.
- Deliver Critical Information with an Impact
A powerful visual training session is instrumental in delivering the intended message with the right impact. Well, it’s of no secret that your employees are well exposed to data visualizations through Social Media and in other forms.
So, it is worthwhile interacting with them from that perspective. That will help them to understand your business, motto, mission and vision strongly. These kinds of visual training sessions also augment productivity and the bottomline by motivating the employees of an organization.
- Interactive Visual Communication is far more Flexible than Textual Training Manuals
We have already become a visually mediated society, and there’s no stopping to it. And thus, for many individuals, images are what they perceive, understand and remember. And nonetheless, when an interaction is done using engaging graphics, overall, the session becomes more flexible than plain text.
Simply put, when plain text fails, visuals save the day! Visually rich training materials hold the participants’ gaze and thus keep their brain more alert and active.
That said, in a bid to make training materials future-proof, marketers must understand the growing importance of visuals and implement the same in their knowledge-imparting processes.
- Information Retention Capability is Superior in Visual Training
If someone wonders about the importance of visual communication in advertising, the following stat might give them the answer. Information retention increases 29%-42% when conveyed through self-explanatory visuals, which helps retain the imparted knowledge.
And this is why employees and trainees can adapt that knowledge perfectly into their respective job roles; because what they see in a visual form, they tend to remember. This makes employee training more impactful.
- Visuals Trigger Memories
Some images can tickle the subconscious of individuals and trigger long-lost memories. One of the most incredible advantages of visual communication.
This creates a sense of personalization among employees. They also feel familiar with such memories, which in turn makes the learning process relevant and evenmore enjoyable.
- Your Credibility Increases with the Aid of Visuals
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality has made the old adage “Seeing is Believing” vehemently true. A clear, precise visual representation is the key to increase your credibility in your audience while you are trying to establish a fact or data.
As 65% of the world’s population are visual learners, visual imagery reinforces the credibility of what you present, guaranteeing a positive response. When they see a graphic representation of the data you tell them, you can also earn their trust. This also helps a lot in brand building and boosting brand credibility.
For new recruits too, when they witness a graphic data visualization of some stats about your company, it is easy for them to trust what you claim.
- Visuals are Self-Explanatory, so less Time Spent in Explaining
Visuals can save you from hours of explaining a concept or a theory to your audience. Given the straightforward quality of images, it is pretty easy to convey your message without a lot of explanations. A lot of your precious time gets saved from endless hours of talking.
Whether you are presenting in front of your customers, your employees, or your board members, visuals can help them understand your idea better and strike up conversations.
Visual Training and Communication Tips
Well, a drastic cultural paradigm shift might not happen overnight, and companies might still resort to textual presentations. However, visual content is eventually becoming a crucial communication mode now.
And to harness the potential of this new opportunity, managers and leaders must find ways to implement meaningful visuals within business operations. Such as through the following types of visual communication components:
- Interactive Brainstorming Sessions
- Live Presentations
- Embracing Infographics and GIFs
- Implementing Explainer/Demo videos
- Training/Educational Videos
- UI/UX Designs
- Visual Art
- Org Charts
- Infographic Displays
- Stylized Icons
- Visual Signages
- Hierarchical Process Diagrams
- Gantt charts
However, do not completely leave out texts, but use them as per the context. There must be a perfect mix of visuals and texts, both, with the latter being the dominant element. It’s always recommended to create a strategy before you face an audience. Such strategies are the best to hone your visual communication skills.
Developing Visual Communication Strategy
And to develop a strategy, know your audience well. Ask yourself what is the best visual aid that would work with your target audience, what are the key takeaways, would they be comfortable with visuals, which color theme would work best with them – all these questions must be answered first while drafting a visual strategy.
For your external marketing effort as well, think of developing a full-proof visual marketing strategy that can positivelyaffect your company’s financial success. Whatever be the scenario, visual communication is undoubtedly a critical contributor to your overall business growth.
Over to You Now!
Developing lucid visual skills is a must-have for every business owner to unlock positivity and optimism throughout the organization. And for that, it’s best to deploy a legit graphic design team who could create custom visual content for your purpose. Either you can hire a dedicated team who would work dedicated only on your project. Or maintain an in-house team within your company. Or you might reach out to a professional graphic design who would sit with you and brainstorm the concept.
Either way, using relevant graphics, images and visuals as a form of communication can improve the work culture of any organization and help in distributing the most complex information engagingly. Make it a company-wide practice and amplify your communications. The sudden transition to remote work across the globe has alreadythrust visual interaction into the forefront of business continuity.
Get on with it and start reaping the benefits of visual communication.Make your training materials visually appealing. And if you know any other way to leverage the power of visuals into your business, share your knowledge in the comments section below. The information could be shared visually, as well! 😉
