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To Give Better Briefings, Use More Images
May 11, 2022

Table of Contents

Introduction

Images are powerful! Images capture our attention like few things can. Images can make or break successful briefings or pitches! In this blog post I describe how and why to include more images in your briefings and presentations.

Check out these other blog posts on writing:

The Kindergarten Teacher

Remember back to when you were a young child and your teacher would read a story. How did the children act when the words were being read?

Distracted.

Not very interested.

But the children would spring to life when the teacher would turn the book around to show the book’s art work!

Teachers know the power of images in briefings!
Teachers know the power of images in briefings!

The desire to look at images is still inside all of us. Use this to your advantage!

Images are Better than Text

Would you rather look at an image or read the text description? Which is more interesting?

Bruce McCandless II during EVA in 1984. Image from NASA

A NASA astronaut floats above the baby blue earth. The astronaut’s white space suit is contrasted by the deep black of space. His identity is hidden by his formless space suit and metallic, mirrored helmet.

Which do you prefer?

Which does your audience prefer?

Were you drawn to the image first, or the text description first?

Images for Engineers

Images which help tell your story are powerful, especially when they show action. Be sure to include images which show your system being built or being used. Show images of people testing the system or using the GUI.

An action image is much better than an equation.

Action image: An engineer testing equipment
Action image: An engineer testing equipment
Boring: Pages of math
Boring: Pages of math

There is a time and place for long, detailed explanations of mathematics and engineering details. College lectures immediately come to mind.

However, minimize math and maximize images when giving briefings for a mixed audience. Consider that your audience may be made of engineers in your field, outside your field, non-engineers, program managers and users of your system. Much of the audience may not need to know or even care about the underlying details of the system.

So help them stay interested with images.

Conclusion

Images can take a presentation from good to great! Action images showing your system being built, tested and used are incredible for keeping your audience interesting and communicating your value. Be sure to go light on the math when communicating across a broad audience and go heavy on the images to keep them interested.

Check out these other blog posts on writing:

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The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2
Behold, I am toward God as you are; I too was pinched off from a piece of clay. Job 33:6
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! Psalm 100:4
Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord! Psalm 134:2
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8
He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-39
Then He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live." Ezekiel 37:4-5
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Proverbs 11:4
The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Exodus 3:2-3
Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding." Daniel 2:20-21
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
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