1. Accentuate contrasts so distinctions are sharper and memorable

By placing contrasting concepts on either side of a room we can accentuate their differences visually. They are spread apart visually which means that people can grasp such distinctions more easily compared with just explaining them or placing them on one picture together.

2. ‘Anchor’ concepts to specific locations and feelings

By placing a concept on one side of people’s visual field you are effectively creating an association between the concept and its location. Furthermore, it allows you to associate concepts with feelings, for example, problems with negative feelings and solutions with positive feelings. In other words, we are ‘anchoring’ the feeling to the concept and the location. By doing this we have created powerful connections, which help people understand and relate to our ideas.

3. Represent a timeline visually which makes understanding easier

If you asked people in an audience which side of the room represents the past naturally they will point to the left. Likewise, they will tell you the future is on the right. This is so instinctive and also consistent with other conventions. For example, we read from left to right. Similarly, if we were to draw a numbered line from 0 to 100, we would label it with 0 on the left and 100 on the right.

For this reason, representing the past on the left and the future on the right makes complete sense to people. This means that you are communicating in a way that is easy for people to follow. If you represented it the other way around, people may or may not notice consciously, but it just would not feel as natural.

4. Switch attention fast and easily

A great way to keep people engaged is to change their focus of attention. When we change attention we can change the rhythm of a presentation. Just like a piece of music, when the rhythm changes it creates interest for the listener. The change of attention can act as an energy spike to keep people engaged.

What this means for you is that it is fast and easy for you to refer back to an idea by just looking at it, gesturing towards it or moving back to that location when you talk about it.

As you move back to that location, people more easily associate with that concept. For example, if you had problems listed on the left-hand flipchart, the moment you return to stand by it people start to associate easily with that aspect of your talk.

The great thing for the audience is that, by keeping the left and right flipchart content visible, they are able to see everything all the time. This helps them to maintain the sense of where you are moving from and where you are heading towards.

5. Tell your story – take people on a journey

When we want to persuade people about an idea, usually we are taking them on a journey from their existing thinking to a new idea. However, people are not always easily persuaded to accept something new. This is where using our two visuals is an incredibly effective device for taking people on a journey with us. Our two flipcharts can help us to show people the benefits of moving from their current thinking towards a new idea.

People find the story format so easy to absorb. Our two visuals on the left and right lend themselves to us being able to present our ideas in a story form. It is easy to see that, for example, we could move from problems on the left to solutions on the right via a story. Even a couple of very simple visuals can be enough. For example, on our left-hand flipchart we could have images of disappointed customers. We could then present our ideas for solving the situation. Then we could have on the right-hand flipchart a list of those future actions to improve the situation along with images of happy customers.

6. Create powerful introductions – for meetings, presentations or workshops

The two-visual technique can help you to make great introductions. By referring to the two pictures you can easily give people a brief overview at the start of a session. For example:

One could imagine many other examples where it may be helpful to create that immediate contrast right at the start.

Stand left, right or middle

Now we will look at standing position choices. Our decisions will be informed by what we are trying to achieve and the effect we wish to create.

The centre is the most powerful position – best for key messages

As described earlier we can use the two visuals technique for:

• representing time;
• accentuating contrasts and making distinctions sharper;
• anchoring concepts to locations;
• switching attention.

Whilst we have set up visuals left and right for the above purposes, as I have mentioned already the central position is the one for highest impact when presenting. What this means for you is that, even when using two visuals, you will find the centre to be a very effective place from which to deliver really important points. Therefore, do use the centre in addition to your left and right positions.

In choosing where to stand the principle is incredibly simple:

Stand by the relevant visual to reinforce its point

If you have started a talk by placing visuals on the left and right to represent past and future, then it will be important that you present from either one of these two points or in the centre. This will make your presentation much clearer visually and make it easier for people to follow.

One of the key purposes of setting up the three positions is to affect the state or feeling of the audience. The reason for doing this is that, in terms of motivation and persuasion, we want to be able to affect changes in how the audience is feeling about what we are saying. A key thing to be careful about is to be precise in where you stand because you want to enhance the visual and the message it conveys.

The following pictures show the potential set-ups and options for where to stand. For the purposes of the example, I have used ‘past’, ‘present’ and ‘future’ as the key positions. However, the same idea will apply if we use the positions to visually represent other concepts, such as those shown earlier (e.g. problem/solution or cons/pros).

• Using a whiteboard or facilitation board – with pictures split. Here you have the chance to stand to the left, right or centrally in front.

Variations – one could create some variation to this, for example:

• Using two flipcharts. In this instance you could stand at the left flipchart, centrally or at the right flipchart.
• One flipchart. In this example you are confined to one flipchart and therefore would need to draw/show the first picture and then turn over the flipchart page to draw or show the second.

We therefore need to keep in mind the potential benefits of the two pictures and how our positioning and movement can help us to achieve those benefits.

Use words that match the state you are trying to create

The actual words we use can make a massive difference to the way people are feeling. We know that, when spoken, certain words evoke feelings in people. Therefore, with careful attention to our words, we can begin to create a state or feeling in the room that will enable people to get on board with us.

Some words automatically evoke more negative feelings, which can be helpful in highlighting the pain caused by problems you want to solve. Connecting people to the pain of a problem increases motivation to find a solution. You could also use words that get people intrigued as a way of motivating them to listen further.

Similarly, if you want to get people into a solution-orientated state, you can use words that help to achieve that and cause them to feel much more confident and positive.

Imagine that you have set up your two visuals, showing a problem picture on the left and solutions on the right. Let’s look at the kinds of words that accentuate the contrast between the two and begin to communicate the state associated with each.

Use voice and body language that match the two contrasting states

I have mentioned earlier that the quickest way to change your state is to change your physiology. This is especially useful when presenting either of the two contrasting visuals.

When you change your physiology, your voice qualities and energy tend to follow. Imagine, for a moment, sitting with your head in your hands in a rather forlorn manner. Your voice and energy will tend to match that posture. By contrast, if you sit up straight and smile your whole energy will change to become much more positive. The audience will pick up on your state and be influenced by your energy.

Therefore the rule is as follows:

Adopt the desired state to match what you are talking about.

For example, if you are at the left visual talking about concerns or complaints, it will help if you adopt a concerned manner yourself, not only in the words you use but also in energy, voice qualities and body language.

When you move to the right-hand flipchart to talk about solutions and positives, it will be important to adopt an upbeat energy, voice and body language to match.

In this way you enhance the power of your drawings and any words you write or display to the audience. In doing this, everything is working in harmony so that people get the full message as you intend it to be received.

Look and gesture towards the desired visual

As I mentioned earlier, people will look where you look. This is particularly helpful when using two visuals, especially when you are on one side of the room and need to refer to the visual on the other side.

Instead of having to walk back to the other side, you can get people to focus on it simply by looking towards it and even gesturing to it.

This is a quick way to switch attention from one visual to the other and another reason for having two pictures visible at the same time.

Use two visuals to ask for contributions from the group

In addition to presenting ideas, the two-visual technique is also great for asking the group for their contributions.

Standing by the flipchart on the group’s left you can draw your picture or symbol at the top and write the word or pose a question and ask for the audience’s contributions.

By remaining next to that flipchart as you write, you are ‘anchoring’ the audience’s contributions to that side of the room and to the feelings that those comments evoke.

Once you have written up these contributions, you can move to the centre to explain what happens next. This is taking you visually from the problems/issues and concerns of the past into the present. In making that movement you have dissociated yourself from that negative state. As you stand in the centre you are accessing a more positive state. The great thing is that, even from that central position, you can always refer back to the flipchart without actually getting into the negative state again.

As you now move on to asking the group for ideas/positives/solutions, etc. you are able to draw and write easily on the flipchart to the audience’s right. When you do that, their visual focus will have changed to ‘the future’ and, in doing so, the audience’s emotional state also begins to change in a positive way. Furthermore, you are in the brilliant position of now having set up the anchors in the room. You can, therefore, move back easily to the central position to make key points. You can also gesture to one flipchart or the other from that position.

Keep your left right and central positions distinct

Using two flipcharts to get the group to draw/write their ideas

We can use the same anchoring principle to get the group to write up ideas themselves. One of the benefits of asking the group to do it is increasing ownership. When people actually write the ideas themselves they are even more connected to them. Another benefit is that getting people up on their feet can break up your presentation in a positive way by getting them more involved.

Again it’s important to keep the flipcharts anchored in two distinctly separate places to represent, for example, past/future or problems/solutions as before. If you do not have two flipcharts, you could simply have flipchart paper on one wall representing the past and on another wall representing the future. All you need to remember is to keep them the right way round, moving from left to right.

Enjoy experimenting to maximise the power of two visuals

The recommendations given in this section will give you a solid basis on which to further develop your skills. Through practising and experimenting you will develop and refine your skills and get to know instinctively what works best for you.