Whether creating picture stories or otherwise integrating visuals into our content, we must constantly ask ourselves, “What am I seeing in my mind when I think about this topic?” If there is some kind of tangible image you see, try to find relevant physical imagery to display that mental picture.

Ask yourself whether there is anything in your real-life experiences, or those of others, that can bring this topic to life in some way. Is there an allegory, maybe something they might see on TV or have experienced while growing up? Can you relate your topic to current events, objects, natural phenomenon, or human characteristics that might help people better grasp a concept?

We who are subject experts naturally presume the meaning of our topics will be very obvious to other people. But others do not have our experiences or perspectives, our collage of memories or visual references. They cannot see inside your brain. You must show your thoughts, in a tangible, visual way.

Here is an allegory taken from our experience that we use to illustrate an abstract concept: One of Relational Presentation’s most fundamental and defining characteristics is its use of illusion. If reading through the Relational Presentation textbook, you will see numerous examples, such as obscured navigation and the magic back button that appears to step users backward though previously viewed shows.

What other kind of allegory might be available to explain the importance of illusion? I was thinking about this question, and then remembered an interesting creature here in Arizona. We have a large, beautiful, black and yellow butterfly called a Giant Swallowtail (Figure 2).

The butterfly lays its eggs on citrus trees, and the caterpillars then eat the leaves. These little caterpillars are fascinating in that, while growing up, they look for all the world like a bird dropping (Figure 3). You can stare at them six inches away and the illusion created is phenomenal. What self-respecting hungry bird would want to eat THAT?

This amazing visual trick probably gives this species of insect special control over its own survival, especially considering how many of these butterflies are floating around the yard on any given day. You can use this same kind of visual redirection to your advantage in PowerPoint. Use of illusion gives you enormous control as a speaker, staging events that happen without the audience even noticing—and they don’t need to notice.

In this case, we took an example from personal experience, created a two-slide picture story, and used it to explain an abstract concept. With a little creativity, you can produce illustrations for just about any concept imaginable. People will never see what you see unless you show them.

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