Sometimes I think we, as a society, are regressing in our communication skills. Think about it: cavemen (I know, I know, that isn’t the PC term for them) used simple drawings on cave walls to convey meaning and share messages. With the advent of emoticons and other texting visuals, we have started replacing words with images. Consider the following text messages:
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| Lorri Brown (C) |
One person didn’t even have to say (or text) a word. Her (or his - this is a no-judge zone) emoticons said everything. Facebook has started to
integrate these types of visuals into their messaging and status updates, and now people can add little pictures to show how they are feeling. This style of communication has started to seep into my workplace as well. I’ve noticed a significant uptick in the use of smiley faces (or frownie faces) in my coworkers emails. These little symbols can convey major meanings. They illustrate how much we rely on images, especially when it comes to multimedia messaging.
Selfie Nation
Increasingly visuals, whether images, photos or videos, play a huge role
in the way we communicate. They contribute to a more robust message and better
user engagement. According to Ionescue,
image-upload genrates 50% more activity than othe types of publications on
Facebook
Death by PowerPoint
Multimedia tools that integrate visuals offer a variety of ways to
communicate more effectively. From an
educational point of view (AKA my day job) visuals and multimedia tools are
vital for staff education. There is
nothing worse than reading a powerpoint that is full of nothing but text and then taking a quiz at the end to demonstrate
what you learned. NOTHING IS WORSE THAN THIS. NOTHING. Migrating away from
PowerPoint, my department has started using a multimedia tool called Articulate to creat online
staff education. It allows us to
integrate video, animation, and simulation with core messages, distributed in an
attractive and inviting package. What
would you rather do? Read a lengthy PowerPoint like, say, HIPPA (Health
Information Patient Privacy Act) or take a fun and interactive online, like this. Which do you think you’ll learn more from? 