When you think of visual communication, you may think of graphs and tables, but that’s not always the case.
In fact, visual communication is anything from pictures to videos, along with any presentations you make.
By using visual communication, you can make it so much easier to present new ideas and information to your colleagues and employees.
But how can you utilize visual communication in an effective manner that works for your company?
How Can Visual Communication Help Your Business?
Visual communication is one of the best ways to convey information. Images and other visuals are processed at higher speeds than just simple text.
After all, with the evolution of the internet, getting anyone’s attention is harder than ever before.
If you have to send out text heavy messages to your employees, the amount of information they actually absorb is limited.
Your message may end up getting lost, or they may miss out on what you’re trying to say.
By using visuals, the message becomes far easier to understand, and it will make for a far more interesting communication process.
It will also set your brand apart from others. By utilizing your brand, everyone will understand where the email is coming from.
Any colors and images will be the first thing they see, and they’ll be more likely to read everything or scan the email than if it were a wall of text.
What is Good Visual Communication?
Good visual communication is anything that leaves an impact on your employees. You could give them notes, newsletters, or emails for days, but that doesn’t always sink in.
The best way information can be communicated is by adding a little flair to remember the details.
If you’re only presented with words, that may ruin the effectiveness of your message, especially if it’s in front of a white screen.
So how can you use visual communication to your advantage, especially when communicating with your employees?
Using Visuals for Onboarding
Scheduling face-to-face training can be a challenge, but with visual communication, you could train them without having to worry about overloading them with information.
By using visual communication, such as by PowerPoint or video, you could give them the information you need.
The best part about this is that they’ll be able to have access to them as and when they’re needed.
Ensuring that these files are easily accessible will help make the onboarding process so much easier for both employees and employers.
Incorporate Images Into Your Emails
Emails aren’t the easiest of formats to make interesting, but if you’re communicating with your employees, you might want to use images to convey your information.
A block of text could easily go over your employee’s head, but images are far more pleasing to the eye.
It’s also far faster for an employee to scan an image than to scan the text. Your message may be lost in the process, and they may not retain all the information.
Record Any Important Meetings
Sharing notes can be a great method of giving information, but there are downsides to this.
If an employee is absent from a meeting, either because of illness or vacation, they may not get the full picture.
Notes aren’t always the most reliable tool, and they may not get all of the information they need.
Including any biases from the note taker, they may not get the whole picture. But if you record a meeting, you can make sure they can watch the meeting and take notes as they please.
This also means they can go back if they have to, and improves efficiency as your employees can go back to the meeting to check back on vital information that was given to them.
Use Infographics for Data
Data can go over people’s heads, so you should try to make it as accessible as possible.
By including visual cues in your data, it makes it easier to read, and more fun to interpret.
If you record your meetings, you can also include infographics in any PowerPoints to ensure that all of the vital information is covered.
By implementing infographics in your meetings and presentations, you can ensure that more transparency is given to your employees.
After all, transparency can improve clarity for your employees, and they’ll be able to understand what direction the company is heading.
More Examples of Visual Communication
Some examples of visual communication have already been explored in previous sections.
But why don’t we elaborate on the most common uses of visual communication seen in businesses today? Many companies use GIFs to lighten the mood of a business and make their communication easier to digest.
Screenshots can be used to show progress, and screen recordings can be used if you have a virtual meeting.
If you have a meeting, you can record them on videos. If you want to show information, try infographics and pie charts, as the data will be easier to digest.
Data visualizations can be used to show examples of your company’s data in an easy to understand format.
Even PowerPoints can help show the information you need, and you can use them in a multitude of different ways in your company, be it for meetings or onboarding.
Even social media posts can be a great way to present information, and you’ll be able to promote your company as well.
Final Thoughts
With all of these examples, it’s hard not to see how visual communication can be used to help your business grow.
Nowadays, companies use visual communication to make communicating faster and more efficient.
After all, visual communication is any sort of representation that’s used without text.
Text may not be processed as quickly, and a block of text takes longer to read than a visual representation.
It’s also easier to digest, so having companies use them makes the transparency of your company so much clearer.
Hi, my name is Justin Shaw, I started my career with a Masters in Computer Science but found writing to be my forte'.
I'm now the Principal Tech writer for GshiftLabs.com as well as a few other well known publications. I help make the complex world of Tech-Jargon easy to understand.
