How many triangles are there in the illustration below? Don’t read further until you answer that question.
Two? Eight? More?
Note that I didn’t ask, “How many triangles do you see in the illustration?”
How many are there actually?
The correct answer is “zero.” There are only V shapes and 3 Pac-Men type figures.
At a recent NSA-MN Chapter meeting, David Mann, Actor/Director/Professional speaker, used this illustration to make an analogy to storytelling.
His point was that we don’t need to give ALL the details of a story, but that giving enough details, in the right arrangement allows the audience to imagine the story. “The right facts,” said David, “can release the story.”
If you have too few details, or have them arranged poorly, people may misinterpret.
What could this picture mean?
Tulips?
Or, if you have too many details, people become confused.
An example of chaotic information:
Remember these images when you craft your stories and get just enough details in the right place to “release the story” and to allow the audience to “see and own their own version.”
Next week, I will share how I made these images on PowerPoint, for you PowerPoint geeks. 🙂