An unexpected skill for great presentations

Want to make great presentations that are clear and compelling – this unexpected skill can help

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Aspire Leadership

It can be a challenge to present an idea to an audience in a way that helps them to understand it and buy-in and when you present technical topics to audiences with mixed levels of technical expertise, that challenge becomes even greater. So much can be ‘lost in translation’, particularly when our audience’s brains are busy places and they aren’t as familiar with the material as we are. Barriers such as these can make it tough to keep them engaged, land key messages, and move hearts and minds.

Never fear – there is an unexpected skill that can be extremely beneficial when delivering a presentation – ‘visual facilitation’. 

Visual facilitation

This involves graphically representing information primarily using symbols and metaphor, but it doesn’t require you to be a gifted artist.

Visual facilitation enhances the quality of communication by depicting concepts visually instead of relying on verbal information transfer alone and adds a unique kind of delight to a presentation and brightens the atmosphere for everyone in the room. If you need to articulate complex technical ideas to non-technical audiences, remember that a visual can be worth a thousand words.