How the Brain Processes Visual

Communication
By Scott Schwertly on March 24, 2014 | 1 Comment

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Heres the problem with PowerPoint. Everyone

has access it, and everyone thinks they know how to use it. Unfortunately, the abuse of tools like
PowerPoint in our business culture are neglecting opportunities to maximize how the human
brain functions best.
With that said, I want to focus this post on the teachings of American educational psychologist,
Richard Mayer of the University of California Santa Barbara. Dr. Mayer has received numerous
awards and has written more than 390 publications including 23 books on education and
multimedia. In other words, he knows a thing or two about how the human brain digests and
processes information in the context of multimedia stimuli.
Here are a few of the biggest takeaways from his two decades of research on how people learn
from multimedia presentations. Every presenter needs to consider his teachings when building
and designing a presentation.
1. The Principle of Continuity
People absorb and retain information better when there is text and images on the screen. Let me
repeat that item: People retain information when both 1) Text and 2) Images are on the screen.
You need both elements when designing a presentation because studies have proven that this
approach increases retention by up to 42%. In this case, dont opt for traditional headers, but aim
to keep the text close to the image or concept that is being portrayed. If you help your audience
make the connections by utilizing this layout, the higher the probability of your presentation
success.

2. The Principle of Coherence

Humans have a very limited working memory and can only take in limited amounts of
information at one time. Therefore, as a presenter, you need to be able to separate the essential
from the non-essential for your audience. Only the most important talking points should make it
on your slide. Presenters need to avoid the temptation to add information, stats, or facts that are
only relevant to them and not the audience.

3. The Principle of Signaling

Remember that your audience doesnt have the same depth of knowledge as you do regarding
your topic. Therefore, it is your responsibility to help connect the dots by creating signals. For
instance, it needs to be absolutely clear that A leads to B which leads to C. If the audience isnt
signaled that this is how A connects to B or we are now moving from topic A to B, your message
needs to be reevaluated. It is your responsibility to make sure the audience can see the
connections in your material.

4. The Principle of Segmenting

If your material is complicated, dont forget to chunk your information into shorter bursts. For
instance, instead of lingering on one slide for 5 minutes, utilize 5 one-minute slides. The shorter
the segments, the higher potential for retention.

Remember, PowerPoint gets abused every single day. You need to harness the power of this
medium by applying the principles above to maximize its effectiveness for you and your
audience.