Images capture kids' attention. Show a child an image and they will point to it, say something about it, and respond with a variety of emotions.
Dr. Leonard Sweet says, "Images are the language of the 21st century...not words."
Major corporations know this. They spend billions of
dollars each year to find the right imagery to sell a product,
service, or idea. The United States
Military spent $598 million on
advertising to increase "brand
identity" and meet their annual recruitment
goals. Nike spent $269 million on its
image to sell their products.
Pepsi budgeted over $1 billion on its
image. Not to be out done, Coca-Cola budgeted
$1.4 billion for its image.
Kids think using pictures. John Berger writes in his book Ways of Seeing,
"Seeing comes before words. The child
looks and recognizes before it can
speak."
Visual images help kids understand lessons.
Robert E. Horn, an award-winning
scholar at Stanford University's Center for the
Study of Language and Information, said, "When
words and visual elements are closely entwined,
we create something new and we augment our
communal intelligence ... visual
language has the potential for
increasing ‘human bandwidth'—the capacity
to take in, comprehend, and more efficiently synthesize
large amounts of new information."
Visual images help kids remember lessons. Dr. Lynell Burmark
said, "...unless our words, concepts,
ideas are hooked onto an image, they
will go in one ear, sail through the brain,
and go out the other ear. Words are processed
by our short-term memory where we can only retain
about 7 bits of information (plus or minus 2).
This is why, by the way, that we have
7-digit phone numbers. Images, on the
other hand, go directly into long-term
memory where they are indelibly
etched." Pictures get caught in our brains.
Visual images help kids apply the lesson. A study at
the University of Minnesota's School of Management
found that presenters who use visual
aids are 43% more effective in
persuading audience members to take a
desired course of action than
presenters who don't use visuals. Give kids a point for their head and
an image for their heart.
Tips for using visual images in your Children's Ministry...
- Use images on screen.
- Use printed images or signs.
- Balance words and images well.
- Use simple icons to represent key points / truths.
- Give kids pictures related to a truth and ask them to discuss what they are seeing.
