Working with Images

The saying that “one picture is worth a thousand words” has never been more true. Al Gore certainly knows it:

The internet, a relatively new form of communication, now brings graphics-intensive content into our lives at a rapid pace. Even before the internet, images were the medium of choice for the communication of a message. Think TV, magazines, newspapers and advertisements, all loaded with carefully crafted images.

The bar is officially raised. If you want to communicate effectively and compete in the world, you must use images, or you could end up like this guy.


Even if you spend hours carefully making your point in words, even if you use the best words, sentence structure, editor, etc., there will always be a group of people who will not read what you so carefully wrote.

The Power of Pictures

On the other hand, if you make your point with a picture, even the most attention-challenged among us will take a second to look. And you will have made your point. And your image may just be the key which opens the lock on the minds of your audience and invites them to read further. This is the power of pictures.

Electrify your words with images

Let’s bring the point home….

Scroll down and see the same article you have just read… except without pictures. What do you think?
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EXAMPLE: Same text but with no pictures
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Working with Pictures

The saying that “one picture is worth a thousand words” has never been more true. Al Gore knows it.

The internet, a relatively new form of communication, now brings graphics-intensive content into our lives at a rapid pace. Even before the internet, images were the medium of choice for the communication of a message. Think TV, magazines, newspapers and advertisements, all loaded with carefully crafted images.
The bar is officially raised. If you want to communicate effectively and compete in the world, you must use images, or you could end up like this guy.

Even if you spend hours carefully making your point in words, even if you use the best words, sentence structure, editor, etc., there will always be a group of people who will not read what you so carefully wrote.

The Power of Pictures

On the other hand, if you make your point with a picture, even the most attention-challenged among us will take a second to look. And you will have made your point. And your image may just be the key which opens the lock on the minds of your audience and invites them to read further. This is the power of pictures.
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END OF EXAMPLE: Same text but with no pictures
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Get the Point?

When you add images to your text, you change and enrich your reader’s experience. You open a door to someone who might not be ready to commit to the work of reading. You bring the text alive. You explain better. You teach better. The value of your communications will soar.

OK, I want to use pictures, but how?

This is what this series of articles is all about. I will show you not only how to communicate with images, but also how to think about and structure your presentations so they really tell your story.

Where will I use the pictures?

Once you get started incorporating pictures in everything you do, you will wonder how you ever survived with drab, text-only communications. Every document or presentation you create will become turbocharged with the amazing power of images.

In my life, my most common use of pictures is in business reports. In these reports I might be trying to communicate the progression of a construction job, a problem, a solution, or an answer to a technical question. Another common and less formal usage is as email attachments. I also use images on my websites.

You will find your own uses. Maybe you will liven up letters you send to far-away friends, or to sell something on Ebay, or even to meet someone on the web. Whatever the project, you will do it ten times better with an effective image to help tell your story.

What Will I Need?

You will be happy to hear that you already own much of what you need.

To create documents which can easily accommodate images, you only need Microsoft Word or Excel, or other similar programs. Copying and pasting images into these programs is easy.

To modify images prior to adding them to your documents, for the most part you will be able to use Microsoft Paint, a free part of most Windows operating systems.

To capture pictures you will need a digital camera and a cable. To capture images from the internet, you will need Lightning Navigator, an inexpensive software downloadable at www.poingo.com.

Later, as an advanced user, you may wish to purchase Adobe Photoshop with ImageReady. That’s it!

Just take a little time and follow along. Working with Images is not just about what you do, but also how you work, and ultimately how you think.

Far beyond the idea of adding images to your documents, there is a deeper, more profound level of learning offered here. Learning to use images involves learning how people process and assimilate images. You can’t do a great job of graphic communications without understanding the eyes and brains of your audience.

We will explore such questions as:

What is a proper order for the presentation of ideas?
What constitutes an idea and a grouping of ideas and what separates different ideas?
When is the right time to add an image?
How do you select the most persuasive image?

I hope you enjoy and benefit from what you learn. Stay tuned...