Dan Roam and The Back of the Napkin

Doing this blog is like standing in the library with thousands of books and resources. I get overwhelmed at the talent and creativity that surrounds us. I also get angry at what we choose to pay attention to but that is another story.

I need to learn to tell visual non-fiction stories using video. Dan Roam and his book The Back of the Napkin is helping me learn that skill.


Dan coaches business leaders to use visuals to explain concepts. His demonstrates that with stick figures and learning how people perceive information you can communicate effectively.

I'm going to buy his book this weekend. What cinch the deal for me was the animation videos on his web site. You can see a visual representation of some of the concepts in the book.

Here is an example made for BNet.com on Visual Thinking.


You don't need an MBA to understand what he is talking about. For those of us trying to communicate using video this is essential. On the website, I viewed the animation video about explaining an apple to a person that never saw on before I was taught a process on how to find ways to process an idea. (Not the same as the BNet.com video.)

It was painless.

Definitely visit this site and check out his blog as well.