Visual Thinking: Why You Need to Add Images to Project Communications

Mike Griffiths is an experienced project manager, author and consultant who works for PMI as a subject matter expert. Before joining PMI, Mike consulted and managed innovation and technology projects throughout Europe, North and South America for 30+ years. He was co-lead for the PMBOK Guide—Seventh Edition, lead for the Agile Practice Guide, and contributor to the PMI-ACP and PMP exam content outlines. Outside of PMI, Mike maintains the websites www.LeadingAnswers.com about leading teams and www.PMillustrated.com, which teaches project management for visual learners.

  Communications Management  

Gaining attention for our communications these days is extremely difficult. We live in a media-rich environment dominated by videos, pumping music and entertaining dance moves. So, let’s be honest: Even if we think our project status report should be the most important thing in people’s work days, we are unlikely to compete with TikTok, Instagram, cat videos or even the local weather report.

Why Use Images
Project managers need to up their game to even get noticed. We know fax machines are dead in the corporate world. Well, guess what? So too are long text-filled reports and documents. Should we have to fill our documents with images for them to get read?

Absolutely not. However, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting—because otherwise, people likely won’t give them a second glance to read the content. Like arguing with your significant other, do you want to be right or happy/successful?

Research into visual thinking by Dr. David Hyerle reports that 90% of the information entering the brain is visual; 40% of all nerve fibers connected to the brain are connected to the retina, and a full 20% of the entire cerebral cortex is dedicated to vision…so let’s use it.

Tests show most people only remember 10% of what they heard three days ago. Add an image to the message, and this figure jumps to 65%.

Images Show Flow
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