Paint Mental Pictures
When you have your audience create a mental image of what you are trying to convey, it can have a far greater effect than any picture you put on a slide. Just as people interpret your words differently, so too will they interpret your picture. "The imagination is far more colorful than the greatest painting."
When trying to explain "visual language" I usually fit in the phrase "they were looking at me like a cockroach on a wedding cake" & then I pause & ask them what they just saw in their minds? It typically gets a great response.
In my field sanitation and cleanliness are huge. I start this discussion by having students put their heads down and closing their eyes. I read them a story with lots of discription about a dirty place...we discuss how they feel. Then I take them to a clean place...we discuss how they feel. The students love it. It sets their minds to always putting sanitation first because they remember how they feel when I read the first story.
Angela,
this is a great method as it really sets the stage for the lesson/presentation.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
