One of the biggest challenges in change management is to ensure everyone understands what is at stake, why the project has been launched, how it will be rolled out and what role they need to play to make this happen. One of the answers is the use of visual communication.
Research (https://www.creditdonkey.com/listening-statistics.html) suggests that the average person hears between 20,000 and 30,000 words during a 24-hour period. Say goodbye to words and welcome images.
It is a challenge to create understanding and accept change without adding any additional obstacles. Visual communication or the use of icons, graphs, and pictures to convey ideas and information can introduce topics, get buy-in, and encourage adoption. Using visuals can help us reach our goals of sustainable change. Visual communication can help to create consistency, as well as improve the employee experience and value proposition to understand the change management process.
Did you know that an image is processed 60,000 times faster by our brains than a text?
Visual elements have scientific support for their effectiveness based on the way the brain works. Not only do you understand information faster, but you also remember it better. According to studies (http://brainrules.net/vision/), the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. When a person is asked to recall information three days later, on average, they only recall 10% of text-based information. This jumps to 65% when a picture or graphic is added.
Why is visual communication so effective?
95% of our relationship with the outside world is based on visual receptors.
Even beyond classical change management, implementing visual communications helps break down grandiose ideas into more comfortable tasks for the brain to manage. Visuals and images effectively create an emotional response, which is important since emotions are the basis for up to 80 percent of a person’s decisions. When organisations deliver cohesive and audience-centric visual communication, they can build on these emotional connections to establish trust, encourage loyalty and shape positive change management processes.
Three business benefits of visual communication in change management
- 67% of employees are better at completing tasks when communications include videos or images rather than plain text. Source: TechSmith, The Value of Visuals Report
- R18 000of productivity could be gained per employee if businesses used visual communication effectively. Source: TechSmith, The Value of Visuals Report
- 84%of people were convinced to buy a product or service after watching a brand video
Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing 2021
So how are you doing when it comes to visualising your change management communication?
If you need assistance, give us a call. We can visually make your change message easy to understand.
