Does this stuff really work? Ask that question to people in the visualization space and you’ll likely get a lot of great stories about an event or meeting or personal encounter where one visualization approach or another radically improved an outcome. That’s great, but where’s the solid research? Over the last 6 months I’ve gone on an exhaustive search beyond the anecdote for any research related to visualization. I’ve talked to industry experts and professors, searched databases, and read thousands of pages of academic research. One of the most prolific and interesting researchers of our day is Martin Eppler, researcher and professor from University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, where he’s the Chair of Media and Communications Management. In his just released research, Improving Knowledge Sharing through Visualization: Experimental Evidence, he found that using visualization techniques during meetings fosters knowledge sharing, improves productivity, creates more ideas, creates better ideas, and increases recall. Check out this video summary of his research:
Now that’s some great evidence! I’m not saying that anecdotes aren’t useful. In fact, they’re one of the best ways to tell our story and illustrate the research. Now we’ve got rigorous studies that support what we’ve always intuitively known…visualization can help you solve problems and sell ideas.
A few simple principles can help you improve the way you solve problems and sell ideas. Want to learn more? Contact me and I’ll help you apply this research with a solution that’s right for your needs.
Some people would definitely think the process of creating a visual is some form of magic requiring some ability to conjure something from nothing. The myth of left brain/right brain reinforces the false notion that creativity is something that only belongs to a special, magical few. The reality is that, like magic, there is a science to visualization, that it can be learned, it requires practice, and anyone can do it!
