Seeing is.... comprehending

You know the phrase "seeing is believing?" There is much truth to that, it turns out. However, in our world, the phrase should be, "seeing is comprehending."

Although it is our eyes that take in visual stimuli, it is our brains that make sense of it. John Medina has a chapter (#10) in his book, Brain Rules, which includes some interesting examples of patients who have perfect sight but damage to their brains, in one way or another, that prevents them from understanding or interpreting what they see.

The brain processes shapes and symbols by putting them together in an 'organized' way and thereby making sense of them and making a connection to them. The brain works hard to make these connections.  One of the reasons optical illusions work so well is because they purposefully interrupt the making of connections.

What is the lesson to be learned here in terms of training? Only one that we have been trumpeting for years: use visuals in your learning materials.  The brain will naturally associate the content with the visual. It helps to have visuals that link to the content (e.g. Here are the 5 keys to qualifying a sales prospect, accompanied by a photo of a key) however, they don't have to. Any visual will cause an associated link in the learner's mind. You could simply have the 5 bullets set off in a colorful table and that would make a visual connection to the words for the learner, as well.

Visuals belong in the obvious places (your slides) and the not so obvious places (the workbook, the job aid).  Our visual cortex is the most developed of all our senses so you use it to your advantage in developing training.