It may seem in today’s tilt-a-whirl environment that great ideas arrive fast and furious, coming out of nowhere and fully formed. But that isn’t the case, according to Steven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. Technology may provide the connective tissue that speeds up innovation, but that next big idea will probably come out of slow hunches, accidental innovation and collaboration rather than any “Eureka!” moment.

(Thanks to Katya Andresen for turning me on to this great video synopsis of Johnson’s thinking on the subject. Gotta love well-done explanatory visual communication.)

Thanks to Lauren Kirchner at the Columbia Journalism Review for her piece on David McCandless’ recent TED talk on data visualization. McCandless makes an excellent case for the idea that good design is the best way to navigate the incredible information glut we’ve unleashed through advances in technology.

This should be required viewing for nonprofit communicators and fund raisers. It’s nearly impossible to overestimate the role empathy plays in motivating people to take action in support of a cause.

Never underestimate the power of a good visual. For example, take the epidemic of obesity that’s plaguing the United States.

We recently had Duke University professor William Evans speak at several of our retirement communities on how weight training could be used by older adults to halt or even reverse the effects of aging. His studies showing that even seniors well into their 90s could dramatically improve their health and fitness through resistance training were compelling, but what really grabbed the audience’s attention was this slide series showing the progression of obesity in this country over the past couple of decades.

There are plenty of statistics out there you can use to educate people on the problem, or you can just show them this simple visual progression from 1985 to 2008. Click through the slides quickly to get the full effect. I could feel myself getting fatter just watching it.

Each of us processes information differently. Some prefer reading your story. Others are more susceptible to visual or audio storytelling. The next time you’re working on a white paper, brochure  or annual report, consider straying from the well-beaten path and shaking things up with a more visual approach. You might just increase the impact of your messaging.

photo by fotodawg

I don’t remember who I first borrowed the idea from, but I really love reviewing my top 20 tweets each month. My approach to twitter is as editor/curator: I look for posts I think will appeal to those who follow me in the areas of marketing, communications, social media, journalism and related subjects, especially as they relate to nonprofits and small business. I of course liberally tweet my own posts since those happen to be the subjects I tend to write about.

What is particularly interesting is what my highest-performing tweets tell me about my followers on Twitter: they’re a fairly discerning bunch interested in real substance, not fluff. I can always tell when I’ve missed the mark, and it helps me quite a bit when considering what to blog about.

Here’s what was most popular in October. I encourage you to check out any you may have missed when first we tweeted. It’s all good stuff. Even my stuff (I think).

No More Excuses for Crap Communications

If Marketers Today Created the Stop Sign

Social Media and the Paradox of Choice

Why Every Communicator Should Blog

The Dangers of No Content Strategy

Your Communications Plan: What It’s Really For

Small Business: Get in the Social Media Pool

Why Nonprofits Are So Good at Social Media

All You Need is the Story

Results of the Fourth Annoying PowerPoint Survey

Build a Social Network for Your Business

Why Uncensored Blogging is the Future of Corporate Communications

Blogging is Dead, Long LIve Journalism

A Tagline is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Is Philanthropy Ready for the New Consumer?

Five Reasons Corporations are Failing at Social Media

My Five-Year-Old’s Future in Marketing

Hyatt: Managing the Boston Aftermath

Debating Seth Godin’s “Non” Slam

Small Business, Social Media Not Mixing

Common Craft is one of my favorite explainers of complex issues via visual communication. As Halloween draws near, here’s a great example why.

Like the video I posted previously mocking the vendor-client relationship, this one’s funny because it’s true. If you’ve ever wondered why 90 percent of “creative” is ill-conceived, poorly designed, ineffective or just plain garbage, process is frequently one of the culprits.

If you’re curious, here’s the real history of the stop sign.

OK, maybe not. Here’s the real real history of the stop sign.

You’d expect a slide presentation on visual and creative thinking to be, well, visual, and Kelsey Ruger doesn’t disappoint. But the pictures are in service to some pretty rich content. If you’re wondering why we continue to be plagued by godawful PowerPoint presentations with lots of text, bullets and cheesy graphics, the answers can be found here. And the solutions as well.

I may be a writer, but I’ve always loved strong visual communication. Must be all those comic books I read growing up.

photo by edu_phon

I’ve decided to expand my normal 10 tweets to 20 from now on because there’s just too much good stuff to share each month. Running through the list of the most popular links I posted on Twitter last month is almost like a Rorschach test that helps me take a dip into the minds of those following me there. My main takeaway is that people are hungry for good, actionable information on communications in general and social media specifically.

So in case you missed any of these the first time around, here in order are the tweets that drew the most attention:

PR Gaffe Delivers Unintended National Press

How to Astonish Your Audience With Statistics

10 Best Practices in Social Media for Nonprofits

Aspire to This: an Example of a Great Website

8 Twitter Habits That May Get You Unfollowed or Semi-Followed

Emotional Messaging Works; Rational Messaging Hurts

5 Fresh Ideas for Social Media Marketers

Why Don’t Tweens Tweet? We Asked Over 10,000 of Them

Are You Antisocial in Your Social Media Efforts?

How to Tell Your Story in 100 Words or Less

ROI of Listening: 17 Things to Do With What You Hear

Your Web Site: Less is More. Really.

Being Helpful is the New Black

10 Common Writing Mistakes Your Spell Checker Won’t Find

73 Ways to Become a Better Writer

Time for a Twitter Reality Check

Your Company is a Media Company

45% of Employers Use Social Networking Sites to Research Job Candidates

A Child’s First Hitchcock: Psycho

What’s So Scary About Marketing Strategy?

Check out any you may have missed last month on Twitter. There’s lots of good food for thought in this list (although my favorite, A Child’s First Hitchock, is just for fun … great storytelling example, though).

Enjoy!

Who says statistics have to be boring? Combining the right images with the right facts can pack an emotional punch every bit as powerful as the most compellingly crafted story.

Unfortunately, most of us think that people will respond to “the facts” when presented in a clear, straightforward manner. Forgot you’re dealing with human beings, didja? As overly rational and unemotional as I am, I still respond when you push the right buttons … just as we all do.

Jeff Brooks posted recently on how emotional messaging in fundraising appeals beats rational messaging every time. The study he cited found that emotional content in advertising outperformed both purely rational and a rational/emotional mix (significantly so compared to rational-only).

There’s a reason we respond to the emotional appeal … it’s because we’re wired that way. As much as you’d like to dazzle people with your brilliant logic, logic alone won’t do the trick. You need to make an emotional connection. I’m more likely to stop and think if you do.

The video above does a pretty good job of this. It contains a number of facts that would probably elicit a “hmmn, interesting” response if presented in a whitepaper or typical PowerPoint presentation. This approach grabs your attention and forces you to consider the ultimate question: “What does it all mean?”

Watch and then tell me it doesn’t make your spine tingle just a little.