Why Illustrate?

Many presentations leave you with the impression that illustrations are like a haberdasher at a nudist colony...completely unnecessary. You get the facts and that's all you need. Why waste anyone's time with stories and examples and the like? Let's just get the data and get out of here. Don't order a mushroom swiss burger when ground chuck will do.

However, we must not forget that in most circumstances the goal is to help our audience understand something, and often something they don't already know. It might be an idea, a set of concepts, a process, or the like. And to do that, we must use what they know to get them to what they don't know.

That's where illustrations come in. Part of the power of illustrations Is their ability to take concepts we already grasp and use them to build a new one. They use analogy and comparison and contrast to communicate another brand new idea, not unlike putting metal and plastic and wires and glass together to become a computer.

So not only are illustrations interesting and enjoyable, but I would suggest they are crucial to doing a good job of education, to helping others grow in their understanding.

So don't be ill....be illustrative!!