What is Visual Storytelling?

For most of my career, I’ve worked in the world of Visual Storytelling — as a video producer, writer, and creative director. I love using video to supplement the story and help tell it through moving, visual images.

There are all kinds of ways to incorporate Visual storytelling, including art, photos, sketches/illustrations, music, abstract collages, just to name a few. 

For some people, Journaling is hard — writing their words down on paper is not something that comes easily. I hear often from clients who struggle with the journal prompts I give — so an alternative is to seek a more visual route to tell your stories. So if you are in this same camp — I encourage you to seek visual options expressing your story. Often times, the words come much faster once the visual is in place. 



EXERCISE: CREATE A VISUAL STORY

This time of year — the beginning of a New Year — seems to be a popular time to make Vision Boards — and these are a fantastic tool for creatively and visually scripting out the the story you desire in your life; Casting a vision for your future and pasting pictures onto a poster board that represent that vision. 



Have you ever made a Vision Board? Have you ever tried to make one that tells the story of your life? It’s a pretty powerful exercise and one I highly recommend. 



To get started, all you need are some magazines, a poster board, glue, and scissors. This is a project you can do on a Saturday afternoon.

STEP ONE: Think through your life and business and really dream about the direction you want to take — think through some of the goals and aspirations you have, positive things you want to incorporate, and the lifestyle and experiences you want to enjoy. 



STEP TWO: Flip through the magazines and try to find pictures that represent those mental images. Cut them out and set them aside. You can also use photos you find online. Just print them off and use them if you don’t have magazines handy
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STEP THREE: Look for words or phrases in the magazines, too, that help tell the story of what you are imagining. Clip those out, as they are the perfect compliment to the pictures you’ll use on your vision board

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STEP FOUR: When you have a good selection of pictures and words clipped out, start arranging them on your board and decide how you want to glue them down. Maybe there’s a little section on your board that relates to finances, while another section might relate to your business or career. 

Some people like to create boards for just one area of their life, like health & wellness…. and then create a separate board for other areas like relationship, career, lifestyle. 

You get to decide — but the point is to let those pictures really act as the visual clues of what you want your life to look like, to feel like! 

FINAL STEP: 

Once you are done, put your board somewhere where you can look at it often…. really take time to study it and allow yourself to feel all the emotions of what the life you want to create feels like to you. 

Soak it in…. believe it!! Don’t let your mind play tricks on you by saying things like, "Who do you think you are… you’ll never be able to have all of this."

No! No! No — you have to shut that Negative Nelly voice down. Shut her up! She has no place on this vision board!  
Instead, sit back and look at your board and tell yourself “This is me. This is who I am becoming. I am worthy of all of this. It is mine!” 


I love creating vision boards, and have created one every year for the past 3 years, and I can’t even begin to tell you the magic that has unfolded. So many things I’ve put on my vision board have come true. It’s the power of Visual Storytelling, and I encourage you today to give this a try. 



SHARE: If you create a vision board, I’d love to see it!!! Post a picture of it and tag me in the LIGHTbeamers Community — that’s my free private group on Facebook you are invited to join.