Teaching Visual Communication in a Business Communication Course

Let’s be honest, we don’t like to read big pieces of text. Text-heavy graphs are rather difficult for understanding, especially when we deal with numbers and statistics. That is why we use illustrations and flowcharts for such kind of information.

It’s no wonder that today we know a method to make our life easier. It called an infographic – a visual representation of study or data.

But like anything else, it can be done right or wrong ( I’m sure you've seen poor ones). How to create a cool infographic? The secret is in a long-time brainstorming. You need a really cool idea and good design. . . .

Note: Bovee & Thill proivides thorough coverage of infographics in each of their business communication textbooks, a topic rarely covered in other texts.

Information can be useful--and even beautiful--but only when it’s presented well. In an age of information overload, any guidance through the clutter comes as a welcome relief. That’s one reason for the recent popularity of information graphics.

Do you want to take your online presence to the next level?

Put your portfolio on one of these five great platforms. . .

Like many of his contemporaries, the design consultant Stephen Few bemoans the ubiquity of pie charts. Here, he explains his perspective: . . .

This video, the Value of Data Visualization, makes a compelling case for how infographics exploit visual clues like color, size, and graphic orientation to help us understand complex stories. Naturally, they use infographics to do it. . .

There may be times when you need to present ideas to clients or co-workers and could benefit from one of the many resources for creating online presentations. In this post we'll introduce 14 different presentation tools to get the job done. . .

If you aren’t prepared for the visual content revolution, you may be left in the dust. Not convinced?

Let's take a look at exactly how visual content is positively contributing to marketing strategies -- it may just give you the push you need if you haven't yet hopped on the visual content bandwagon, or are trying to get the resources to do so! . . .

An audience can't listen to your presentation and read detailed, text-heavy slides at the same time (not without missing key parts of your message, anyway). 

So make sure your slides pass what I call the glance test: People should be able to comprehend each one in about three seconds)

Think of your slides as billboards. When people drive, they only briefly take their eyes off their main focus — the road — to process billboard information. Similarly, your audience should focus intently on what you're saying, looking only briefly at your slides when you display them. .

Note: Bovee & Thill's textbooks are recognized in the field as having the best coverage of presentations and presentation tools, including PowerPoints.

Infographics had been famous around the web for its ability to relay information in a truly artistic manner.

This makes it a universal language for it can tell a story even with one look at the visual representations. . .

We’ve made the point time and time again that charts and graphs, though they feel official and true, can lie. Rarely do you get to see that at work, but the good folks at Hyperakt have sent us a prime case study in infographic deception.