​Following Tuesday night’s (11th July) Meet the Author event, I’m writing this blog post questioning if I should resort to a diagram to communicate the key takeaways… and for those of you who are wondering what I’m talking about, maybe it’s time to look at Fiona Passantino’s wonderful guide to Post-Covid Engagement in the workplace.

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What Did You Miss?

When we think about communicating, the likelihood is that we first think of words, right? Well, Fiona Passantino’s talk around her comic book 'Handbook for Post-Covid Communication' encouraged me to consider to think outside the box and reflect on the power of visual communication. Whilst the comic sketches may seem rather frivolous at first glance, Fiona has truly demonstrated the ‘ideal marriage of text and image’ (Fiona Passantino), combining visuals with academic research. Touching on the concept of ‘dual coding theory’, Fiona noted that factually, it takes humans less time to process a picture, which will consequently allow audiences to engage more efficiently; a huge benefit in a busy work environment. Not only that, in an increasingly multicultural world (see blog on multilingualism), using image to communicate can facilitate the process. Let’s take IKEA construction manuals as an example – we’ve all seen one, and probably used one (maybe to much frustration!), but ultimately, this diagram technique is to ensure the same information can be communicated to global audiences.

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So, What Does Fiona Suggest?

Some audience members highlighted that sometimes bringing in such change into their Internal Comms practice isn’t necessarily going to be well-received at first, and perhaps fair enough – it’s not like comic sketches are usually the first port of call for business