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Visual thinking is the foundation for creating powerful PowerPoint presentation diagrams. This article covers…
- What do we mean by thinking visually?
- Why you are naturally good at thinking visually?
- One remarkable benefit of it
- How to start creating PowerPoint diagrams?
Starting with the basic question you have in mind…
What do we mean by thinking visually?
It is the process of perceiving and processing information as pictures and diagrams.
It is a holistic process. It not only helps you perceive ideas and concepts better than the usual linear thinking, but also helps you represent those ideas to your audience better.
You are already good at visual thinking.
Don’t believe me?
Then do this exercise. Close your eyes and think about ‘beautiful flowers’.
What came to your mind?
Did you see some beautiful images of flowers, like the ones here…
See? Your mind already thinks in pictures! So, you don’t have to learn visual thinking. All you need to do is to unlearn linear thinking, which you were forced to adopt in schools.
Here is another interesting fact…
You are already good at drawing diagrams.
You may not have noticed your ability yet, because – you only draw those diagrams in the air using your hands.
Think about this…
When you slapped your hand on the desk, to show your friend how your flight made a hard landing, you drew a diagram. When you moved your hands like a wave, to explain your last roller coaster ride to your colleague, you drew a diagram.
You drew those diagrams naturally, because you realize that…
You can communicate your ideas faster and better, when you back your words with a visual cue.
In this section on PowerPoint presentation diagrams we are going to consciously apply your natural ability to draw diagrams, to enhance your business communication.
You don’t require any specialized skill to draw insightful diagrams. In fact, you don’t even need to know how to draw a stick figure. Realize that drawing diagrams has everything to do with your thinking skills and not your artistic skills.
How do you improve your skill to explain your ideas using visuals?
The answer is simple. Start treating visuals like a language.
Pause. Take a moment to read the sentence again and let the idea sink into you.
Like the way you get fluency in a language, not just by talking the language, but by thinking in that language – you get fluency in expressing your ideas as diagrams by ‘thinking visually’ in a conscious way.
The articles in this section will help you think and express visually, and take your business presentations to the next level.
By the way, there is one significant benefit in learning how to create PowerPoint diagrams. That benefit alone should be the reason why you need to learn the skill…
Drawing a diagram forces you to think clearly
You can’t draw an idea unless you are fully clear about your idea.
You may be able to blabber for hours on topics you have no clue about. But, you can never draw a meaningful diagram unless you know what you are drawing. Such is the power of a diagram.
Once you learn how to draw a diagram, you can draw it anywhere.
When you learn how to draw good concept diagrams, you can explain your ideas by drawing on sand. You can make full lengthbusiness presentation that stickson the back of an envelope. You will even start using PowerPoint in a much better way, avoiding thecommon presentation design mistakes.
Are you serious about improving your business presentation skills?
Then, you can’t afford to ignore this invaluable skill. Knowing how to express your ideas with diagrams adds a significant edge to your business communication.
You need to start by learning the basic principles behind creating visual diagrams in PowerPoint.
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