Break Free From Boring With Visual Notes

It’s official! Science has proven what we’ve long believed to be true: Presentations (looking at you, PowerPoint) actually?decrease comprehension and retention.?Simply put, our brains don’t like when the words we hear are different from the words we see on a presentation design. These competing inputs overwhelm us, and we zone out.

But the news isn’t all bad. Our brains are happy to multitask when they can involve multiple regions. Like when we sing along to the radio while driving a car.

Okay, so if standard presentation design is out, what’s in? For one, visual notes! The magic of visual notes is that they rely on images – rather than words – to reinforce spoken content. Images and words are processed in different areas of the brain, so your audience can take it all in glitch-free.

Visual notes are?drawn in real-time?while someone is talking. And they’re flexible, working across any setting or format – from in-person conferences and tradeshow booths to virtual breakout sessions – to increase event engagement. Here, we round up the benefits of adding live drawings to meetings and events.

1. Visuals?reinforce memory

When combined with the audio stimulus of a presentation, speech, or lecture, visuals have a powerful impact on memory retention and recall. Graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that “visual stimulation is more effective than audio stimuli at achieving higher memory retention and recall,” and?“specifically, it seems that the use of visual stimuli with the act of writing seems to elicit the best recall”?(Udomon, et al., 2013). Because words can often be abstract and difficult for the brain to retain, visuals are a more concrete and easy way for people to remember your content––a concept in psychology called the Picture Superiority Effect.

People “remember 80 percent of what they see and do, 10 percent of what they hear, and 20 percent of what they read”?(Lester, 2006); so, unlike text, visuals stick in our long-term memory. One study found that participants who viewed only text remembered 10 percent of what they read after three days. But those who viewed text paired with visuals remembered 65 percent of the information three days later (Medina, 2008).?Want people to actually remember what you tell them in your presentation? Use visual notes.

2. Seeing an artist drawing live intrigues and inspires people

How often do you get to see an artist at work? Now, how often do you get to see an artist at work visualizing what you?just said? When our skilled artists step into a room and put marker to paper, people are inspired. Not only do they get to see what is being discussed come to life real-time with visuals, but they get to see?their input?reflected in the final drawing. They are able to connect with your content on a higher level, retain and recall what was just said well beyond the event, and continue to be inspired by the visual?we created.

Keep reading how to break free from boring with visual notes here!