3 Things I Learnt on Symbols and Visuals from Mia Liljeberg

"Symbols R’ Us".  One of the activities I frequently use as ice-breakers in my workshops.  And when this question came, “Symbols and visuals; how important are they in conveying your message to the audience?”  

The answer resonated with me:  “Very Important!”

I was very fortunate to attend a session by international speaker, Mia Liljeberg, who was in town as part of her world tour.  Hosted at Fredrik Haren’s residence, here are three main takeaways::

1) While stories captured audience’s attention to listen, visuals helped to convey the message succinctly.   Bonus advice:  Simple visuals inspired audience to draw similar ones on a napkin and that becomes the audience’s takeaway; and that would stay in the audience’s minds for a long time.

2) Mia demonstrated by asking “Who drew the 3 circles on the topic Why-What-How in a TED presentation?”  Almost everyone answered “Robert Sinek!”; but no one could remember which companies did Simon Sinek share in his presentation.  

 3) Mia also demystify the myth that no one can draw.  She said that “If you can write letters in the alphabet, you can definitely draw symbols!”  Mia highlighted 5 basic symbols which we can use in our presentations:

Stroke - which can be used to differentiate two different items
Circle - can be used when explain inclusivity
Square - Can be used in explaining models; usually on decision-making announcements/ already fixed.
Triangle - Can be used to explain information on hierarchical order
Cloud - Can be used to explain an idea

Simple and useful tips.   I’m currently preparing for my upcoming talk at LLibrary on 8 February 2018.  And you’ll definitely see some of those symbols in my slides.

Which of the symbols will you be using in your next presentation?


Towards your continued success,

Hazriq Idrus
Applied Creativity & Public Speaking Strategist
Author of 5 books, including "The Stage Fright Antidote"

Hazriq Idrus is a professional speaker on Applied Creativity and a Public Speaking Strategist.  Using techniques from the theatre he learnt as a stage actor, Hazriq delivers keynote talks and training programmes that are interactive and experiential in nature. He founded The Speaking Factory Pte Ltd with a mission to help professionals & entrepreneurs find their inner creativity to  cultivate innovative team culture, productivity and communicate with impact.  Hazriq is contactable at [email protected].