Visual, Verbal & Textual Communications

Visual, Verbal & Textual Communications

1. PAGES 453 - 458 and 395 - 421

2. "Rhetoric is the art of speaking or writing effectively.

3. Analyse the audience

   • "Consider the audience’s objectives—that is, what they want to do after reading the document. Consider "knowledge and experience levels; level of language, literacy and numeracy (LLN); educational and professional background; economic status; political, social and religious beliefs; level of information the audience has about the subject—novice, general reader, specialist or expert; the roles your audience adopts (decision maker, advisor, implementer, other); the context in which the audience will be reading the piece of writing (newspaper, textbook, popular magazine, specialised journal, on the Internet or on a mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet).

4. Plain English writing style

   • "Plain English involves the use of clear, straightforward expression that avoids obscurity, inflated vocabulary and convoluted sentence construction. "Correct choice of words, clear structuring of sentences and paragraphs, logical ordering of ideas and developing an appropriate tone ensure an effective writing style in any writing context. Regardless of the type of writing task, every document contains seven components of writing style: 1) the words or language 2) the sentences 3) the paragraphs 4) the rhythm or flow 5) the tone 6) the order of information 7) the layout or format.
   • "The structure and purpose of the document are decided by answering these four questions:" 1) What does the reader need to know? 2) How much do they understand about the subject? 3) What is the best way to organise ideas so that they make sense to the reader? 4) Is the document really necessary, or would another method of communication work better?
   • "A document written in plain English has three advantages—equity, efficiency and effectiveness. "The use of plain English reduces the number of incorrectly completed forms and so saves administrative time in processing or returning incomplete or incorrectly completed forms.

5. 1) "Planning stage • Identify the writing purpose • Develop an audience profile • Collect information to meet the writing purpose and audience need • Order the content in a logical sequence • Choose appropriate rhetorical appeal.

6. 2) "Writing stage • Apply positive, inclusive language, clear expression and a courteous tone • Use headings and other visual devices to structure the content • Format to enhance readability and project your organisation’s preferred image

7. 3) "Editing stage • Evaluate writing style, organisation, content and tone • Review readability, rewrite for clarity and conciseness • Proofread for typos, misspellings, errors in grammar and check all names and numbers with their sources • Ensure design elements enhance professionalism".

8. "On a major writing project such as a policy document time spent on each stage is likely to approximate: 25% planning, analysing and collaborating with stakeholders 25% writing individually or with a team of writers 45% editing and revising and 5% proofreading.

9. "Visual communication can be thought of as two intertwined parts: personality, or look and feel, and visual organisation. The personality of a presentation is what provides the emotional impact. Creating an appropriate personality requires the use of colors, type treatments, images, shapes, patterns, and more, to ‘say’ the right thing to your audience. Visual organization is how we see visual relationships. Whenever we attempt to make sense of information visually, we first observe similarities and differences in what we are seeing. These relationships allow us to not only distinguish objects but to give them meaning.

10. "Visual aids are graphics and visual devices used by a speaker or writer to improve the audience’s understanding.

    • "‘Visual aids used badly are not aids: they cost you 90% of the audience’s attention. Used well, you gain 90% of their attention.’

11. "Graphics are a form of visual communication that organises information, such as percentages, numbers or rates of change. They show relationships, highlight trends and help to sort, classify and group data. Graphics also clarify technical ideas and emphasise important points.

12. Visual communication principles

    • "Contrast - The difference in visual properties can assist in creating focus by making one object distinguishable from another. These differences include colour, form, weight, structure and size. Alignment - Strong lines can connect items and indicate a relationship. Traditional documents use symmetry and indicate a more safe, more formal or serious article. Asymmetry creates a sense of movement and can be more interesting visually. Repetition - Audiences identify with repetition and repetition can create consistency, continuity and unify a document. Repeat the design elements. Make consistent elements stand out. Proximity - Group related items together. Conversely, create space between unrelated items. Simplicity - Less is better than more. Eliminate ‘chart junk’—that is, colours, textures, pictures or other information that is superfluous to the message.

13. Graphics

    • "Concepts, related information, trends, movement and changes in time, comparisons and spatial distributions can all be shown graphically. Some of the main types of graphics used in report writing are tables, line graphs, bar graphs, dot graphs, pie charts, diagrams, flow charts, photographs, illustrations and maps.
    • See table on page 398 for different types of graphics and their uses
    • Factors to improve graphics - "Sort data When using bar charts it is useful to sort data from largest to smallest or smallest to largest; "Accuracy - Display data as objects of proportionate sizes Present right-hand justified numbers in a table; one decimal place will usually suffice; "Use a secondary y axis carefully - Ensure the audience understands the use of a secondary y axis Show each data line in the same colour as the relevant y axis to avoid confusion; "Simplicity Use solid colours (not shading or patterns) for lines, columns and fills Eliminate data point markers on line graphs Use different colours to show a difference in items, not as decoration Make text simple, easy to read and understand Only use data tables or values on a graph if they add to the message and do not detract from the message being conveyed Repeat design elements to create consistency and continuity Avoid ‘chart junk’, which distracts from the message being conveyed.
    • "Cognitive load refers to the effort required by the reader to understand the message of a graphic. "It is widely considered that effective graphics have low cognitive load, meaning that the audience can understand the graphic easily.

14. Tables - See page 401 for preparing a table. "Tables are used to present precise data, facts and figures. "Data in tables should be right-hand justified in each column, as this positioning is easier for the eye to follow down the column. .

15. Line Graphs - See page 402 for preparing a line graph. Line graphs (or charts) show movement in quantitative data and can highlight trends over time. " "Line graphs can have one line, known as simple line graphs, or a number of lines, called multi-line graphs. Multi-line graphs should be limited to three or four lines.

16. Bar Graphs - See page 403 for preparing a bar graph. "Bar graphs communicate numbers visually. The height or length of the bars represents the quantity. Bar graphs can be very useful to compare the size of two or more items at a given point in time or to show changes in a single item over time. "The columns in the graph can be single, grouped or stacked. Stacked columns show the relative size of sections when a whole unit is broken up into several parts.

    • "Pareto charts - "Pareto’s principle, or the 80/20 rule, can be a powerful tool to assist in managing effectively by analysing issues within professions and then using the analysis to make effective decisions. Pareto analysis separates the vital few from the possible many. analysis may find that: 80% of complaints are due to 20% of complaint causes; 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers; 80% of sales come from 20% of products sold; 80% of stock comes from 20% of suppliers; 80% of staff problems are caused by 20% of staff. "A simple Pareto chart is a vertical bar graph ordered by frequency of cause (from most frequent cause to least frequent cause).

17. Pie chart - See page 406. "Pie charts represent the parts or divisions of a whole unit, to show a comparison. The pie chart’s main use is to emphasise the proportions of a whole unit, so use it when only a few elements of the whole need to be shown—say, no more than five or six segments in the circle. The first segment starts at the 12 o’clock point and is the largest sector. The remaining segments are arranged in decreasing order of size.

18. Dot graph - See page 407. "A dot graph is used when there are six or more variables. The Australian Bureau of Statistics tends to use dot charts instead of bar charts because the eye picks up the values more quickly, making dot graphs easier to interpret. The dot graph makes it easy to visually connect the graphed point back to its label on the vertical axis.

19. Scatter diagram - See page 407. "A scatter diagram shows the relationship between two variables. It highlights what happens to one variable if the other variable is changed. If there is a relationship between the variables then the points on the scatter diagram will fall along a line.

20. A Gnatt Chart - See page 408. "A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that shows scheduled tasks and completed tasks over a time period. Time is presented on the horizontal axis and tasks on the vertical axis.

21. "Visual communication can present processes, spatial relationships, abstract ideas and other information in the form of flow charts, organisational charts, diagrams, cause-and-effect diagrams, photographs and illustrations, and maps.

    • Flow charts - Flow charts illustrate a sequence of actions or steps using shapes and arrows to indicate the relationships. Flow charts are diagrams that map out and communicate a process visually. Organisational Charts - "An organisational chart illustrates the relationships between the functions, units and positions in an organisation. It is the framework linking the functions and employees in an organisation. An organisational chart also shows the formal upward and downward channels of communication. (See page 409)
    • "Diagrams - A diagram is a form of chart that is used to compare structures. It provides a visual representation of the elements and their relationship to one another. Diagrams are particularly helpful when showing and reinforcing technical details. "Cause-and-effect diagrams - Cause-and-effect diagrams can be used to help identify the possible causes of a specific problem. The Ishikawa fishbone diagram is an example of a cause-and-effect diagram. It is most useful when it is clear that there is a problem but the causes of the problem are not easily identifiable. (see page 409).
    • "Photographs and illustrations - Photographs are easily understood, have an immediate impact and show the physical appearance of the subject. "A photograph will have more impact if it is placed on the right-hand page. "Photographs have three main disadvantages: they can be expensive, they are often visually busy and they are unable to show a cross-section (that is, what is inside the subject that makes it work). These disadvantages mean that many report writers prefer to use illustrations to emphasise the details of interest. A drawing can simplify a real-life situation, highlight important points and give the reader the impression of the idea or concept.
    • Maps - A map is a specific type of diagram that uses scale, grids, symbols, lines, colours, legends, titles, figures and text to show the location of landforms, cities, towns, roads and so on. Maps make clever use of graphics in a way that transfers a large amount of detail on to the page.

22. "Unethical behaviour may occur when data are being collected and manipulated, interpreted or communicated via a graphic. Numbers can be hidden and/or chart scales and trends can be formulated so that the desired message is communicated rather than the actual message. The key principles are: "Disclosure, headings and labels, scale, honesty, carefulness, objectivity and openness. See page 418.