The Importance of Showing and Telling

I attended a 4-day screen writing course in 2011. The teacher never had a script turned into a movie, but

• Sold one several times over for millions of dollars

• Was the go-to script advisor for major studios

• Won a BAFTA for a BBC documentary.

The lesson engrained on my brain is show not tell. A character could describe the run down, one horse town. Or the camera could pan the beaten-up street, to the shop in a shack with a sign swinging in the wind.

Words and Pictures

People absorb knowledge through conjecture. Whenever we’re told or shown something, we form an idea of it in our minds. The more familiar it is, the easier to understand.

Psychologist Linda Kreger Silverman believes 30% of the population think in pictures, 45% in images and words and 25% exclusively in words. We must use all the tools available to connect with the most people.

When all communication is verbal, we connect with only one quarter of an audience. Imagine that next time you are giving a presentation with slides containing only bullets with words.

In one-on-ones, chances are that talk alone is a poor means of explaining yourself. This matters when you are delegating, reviewing or selling to someone.

Blame the Teacher

We talk to teach because we learn this in school. A lecture, books and tutorials are all verbal communication. Many students are left behind.

Humans do not transfer understanding in 1s and 0s the way computers do. If we did, everyone would ace algebra. They don’t because abstract symbols representing numbers are unfamiliar to many children.

When choosing a school for our daughters, I was impressed by the teaching at one. Students stood in lines representing columns to learn about graphs. Other topics, such as set theory, were taught through active participation.

The teacher reached all of the children. I got thinking about applying this at work.

How often do we issue instructions and expect them to be understood first time? This may be in meetings or by email. If people do not understand, it is the fault of the talker not the listener. How many bosses think this way?

Managing, Marketing and Selling with Show and Tell

People are different, but whether we manage, market or sell to them, the skills are the same. Concentrate on building trust and understanding. Showing and telling has the highest chance of transferring knowledge to others.

Managing through delegating

To free time for strategy, leaders must delegate effectively. The best way to do this is by showing and telling:

• Record the task

• Include a voice over

• Don't re-record mistakes.

Once people observe a task four times they can master it. Showing errors and how to correct them accelerates the learning.

For longer projects with uncertain outcomes showing is more difficult. This becomes acute when leaders lack subject matter expertise. For example, a sales-led founder delegating technology projects to developers.

Visualisations of competitors’ solutions, analogous workflows and users’ emotional responses, all help explain requirements.

Marketing with testimonials

Presentation of arguments, facts and figures does not win people over. They must conceptualise outcomes themselves and develop emotional attachments.

Recommendations, referrals and testimonials are powerful ways of showing success. Your arguments are strongest in someone else’s voice.

Selling by demonstrating

Trials, freemium offers and paid development partnerships are three ways to increase client confidence in outcomes. All involve showing and telling.

An additional tip when demonstrating product is to have buyers control the mouse or keyboard. Physical interaction builds familiarity far faster than just watching.

Play it Again

During the screenwriting course, we spent a day watching Casablanca and dissecting the nuances of the script. The imagery in the scenes supports and magnifies the story. For years this was considered the finest movie made.

Casablanca has memorable lines. Most are misquotes, including “Play it again, Sam.” Our memory of words is imperfect.

This is why magnifying words with pictures is the most powerful way to manage, market and sell. It also reaches the almost one-third of people who do not learn with words.

I'm Simon Maughan and I write The Profit Elevator as a guide for B2B firms seeking faster growth. Inspire through leadership is the theme of The Integrity and Influence Initiator in my P.R.O.F.I.T. Through Process Planner.

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