BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Ways To Get Clients To See What You’re Saying

This article is more than 2 years old.

These are emotional times and to attract high-paying clients you need to be a better storyteller. That means telling stories that prospects can see in their mind’s eye.

Using innovative visual thinking techniques can help you to increase understanding of, and gain buy-in for, your ideas.

That’s the advice of Todd Cherches, a TEDx speaker (“The Power of Visual Thinking”) and the author of the book, VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life.

“We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words, but do you know why that is?” asks Cherches. “How can you leverage that concept to grow your business?”

Cherches says that when we use visuals—and visual language—it enhances our ability to get people to focus on what we’re saying, increases understanding, and gets people to remember. What he simply refers to as “attention, comprehension, and retention.”

So, how can we do this? Cherches identifies four key ways:

Visual imagery is about using pictures, illustrations, drawings, and even descriptive visual language that paints a picture with words.

Mental models could include maps, graphs, charts, diagrams or any other framework that enables others to envision your idea.

Metaphors or analogies compare unlike things, so as to help you explain what you’re talking about in a creative and visual way.

Visual storytelling—from cautionary tales to success stories—uses narrative to help bring your ideas to life in an engaging, human, memorable, and visual way.

Cherches says to illustrate all these approaches at one time, one of the best real-life examples out there right now is the phrase “flatten the curve.” In this simple, catchy, memorable phrase, without our needing to know anything about virology or statistics, it simplifies an incredibly complex concept so that we can understand it and act on it. And how often do you need to be able to do that in your business?

Why does this visual approach work? Because just hearing the phrase “flatten the curve” creates a visual image in our mind’s eye (an image), it is based on a detailed graph (mental model), it is an idea that is also being used to describe and influence people’s behavior (metaphor), and it is often accompanied by tales of what we will accomplish if we do and what will happen if we don’t (visual storytelling).

“Regardless of our role, every business professional needs to get others to see what we’re saying,” says Cherches.  “So, if you begin with the end in mind by thinking about what you want your listener or audience to think, feel, know, and—most importantly—do, you can take a more strategic and visual approach to formulating your message.”

This will dramatically enhance your ability to turn your ideas into actions, and actions into results.

“So keep in mind that while a picture is worth a thousand words, the right words and pictures just might end up being worth a million, or more, dollars,” says Cherches.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website