Visual Explanations for Storytelling

Connie Malamed

@elearningcoach

theelearningcoach.com

Topics

Skip ahead if you see something of interest!

• Explanation defined

• Explanations and our cognitive architecture

• Advantages of using visuals in explanations and learning

• Process for visualizing

• Benefits of using stories to explain and teach

• Best story structure

• Visual language of the comic format as it relates to explanations

• Other visual formats for explaining with stories

@elearningcoach

Professional Explainer

My new Twitter profile tells you how much time I spend explaining.

Describing facts in a way that

makes them understandable.

Lee Lefever, The Art Of Explanation

What is an explanation?

Content Cognitive

Architecture

The goal of an explanation should be to meet the “technical

requirements” of the learner’s cognitive architecture.

What do we know about our cognitive architecture?

What do we know about our cognitive architecture?

We use selective

attention to filter

out what is

unimportant

We have a limited

capacity working

memory

We can typically

process 3-4 bits of

info at once

We have what

appears to be an

infinite long-term

memory

That’s why relevant

visuals are so

important.

We can process them

in parallel.

They offload working

memory.

Relevant visuals can aid

comprehension,

retention and recall.

Identify content to visualize1

Determine best graphic format2

Sketch the structure3

Create4

A Process for Visualizing

Benefits of Stories

Stories arouse and satisfy curiosity.

Visual stories provide a common

understanding.

Stories evoke emotions.

Benefits of Stories

Stories arouse and satisfy curiosity.

Some research shows that dopamine, a

neurotransmitter associated with reward-motivated behavior,

plays a part in the desire to satisfy curiosity.

Benefits of Stories

Visual stories provide a common understanding.

Unlike reading a book, with a visual story, everyone sees the

same image, providing a common understanding.

Benefits of Stories

Stories evoke emotions.

It is well known that arousing emotions is an important way to

connect with an audience.

A visual explanation, like this one teaching about Google Chrome, is very well

done. But it is not a story. Why not?

Set up a

problem

1

Elaborate on

the problem

2

Resolve the

problem

3

Story Structure

A straightforward explanation is not a story, because a story has a structure. The

diagram above shows a common story structure (Ware, 2008).

In Wired For Story, author Lisa Cron, warns us to not

confuse the following components with the story itself:

• Plot = what happens

• Protagonist = leading character

• Goal = story question

A story is how the

protagonist changes.

The comic format has a rich visual language that makes storytelling compelling. It can

be used with illustrations or photographs. Next are some components of the comic

format’s visual language that can enhance explanations.

Panels

Separating a story into panels is a way to chunk information to accommodate

working memory.

Panel Arrangement

To encourage reading horizontally:

2. Make the

vertical gutter

(space between

panels) narrow

3. Make the

horizontal gutter

wide

1. Stagger the panels

Word Balloons

Speaking

Yelling

WhisperingThinking

Word or speech balloons can be expressive with varied line types and shapes.

Pictorial Devices

Motion Lines Quiver Lines

Use pictorial devices, such as the two shown here, to enhance explanations.

The narration part

Caption

Captions

Use captions when you need to narrate a story from a third person viewpoint.

This environmental story about St. Mathew Island by Stuart McMillan, is entirely

narrated in the caption box. There are no speaking characters. (Use this approach!)

Photo Essays

The photo essay, with a large photo and an explanation below, is an underused

technique for visual explanations in workplace training.

Classic cars, refurbished and stripped of their original parts, are common in

Cuba. Since before the 1959 revolution, around 60,000 vintage cars have run on Cuba's roads.

If you want to learn more about visual design for learning, get Visual

Design Solutions. Click to see it in Amazon.

Visual Design Solutions

Thank You

Connie Malamed

@elearningcoach

theelearningcoach.com