Blah, Blah, Blah: what to do when words don’t work
by Dan Roam
Product Details
Hardcover: 350 pages
Publisher: Portfolio/Penguin
Date Published: 2011
Point: You and I are either confused by, drowning in, or lied to by words. These powerful tools are valuable, but dangerous. You need pictures too! You cannot fully explain or clarify your idea until you both verbalize and visualize it.
Path: The author explains the predicament we are in (confused masses due to being overly focused on words) the destination (clarified communication) and the pathway (utilizing both words and pictures to clarify and communicate our ideas). By explaining visual grammar, any individual is able to sketch their idea in order to simplify it.
Sources: The author walks his reader through priceless ideas using contemporary examples, simple diagrams, and valuable charts.
Agreement: I teach and my students listen. But what they hear is blah, blah, blah. When I teach using both words and pictures they can “see” the big idea and appreciated the supporting material.
Personal App: I have been challenged to both visualize and verbalize my ideas in order to clarify and communicate them. In some circumstances I am only able to verbalize, but it is there that I must reach for their imagination in order to visualize it.
Favorite Quote: “We don’t need more words. We need more ideas. We need them fast, and we need them to be good – and to know that they’re good, we need them to be clear.” (8)
Stars: 5 out of 5
It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.