The appropriate use of visual information, whether data, pictures or words, all contribute to the development of communication strategies which, in turn facilitate understanding of ‘why we are doing what we are doing’ and hence lead to large scale change and impact.

Acknowledging and understanding different “People Styles at Work” (Robert Bolton & Dorothy Grover Bolton, AMACOM, NY, 2009) helps us to make “bad relationships good and good relationships better”. Crudely categorising the behavioural styles of people into four groups allows us to observe and understand the mode and speed at which people “make decisions, […] manage time and stress and deal with conflict”. What has not been investigated so far, is whether (and how) Analysts, Drivers, Amiables and Expressives are already significantly different in how they grasp information — which then manifests in the observed heterogeneity when it comes to decision-making. 

This project will focus on how individuals with different behavioural styles perceive and communicate data, pictures and words differently and complements the decision what type of visual display is most appropriate. In fact, we seek to go beyond the “control chart or slope graph?” discussion and aim at understanding how the information the selected chart conveys has to be presented to reach the targeted audience. Understanding ‘who we talk to’ (in terms of working style) then helps to reduce miscommunication and increase engagement. (‘Who’ can be anybody — improvers, colleagues, frontline staff or our patients.)

Initially a study will be carried out where participants are asked to review pieces of visual information whilst undertaking a “people styles at work” questionnaire to assess where they ‘fit in’. In a standardised way, this will look at perception of information in terms of arrangement in space, sequencing of information, considering what formats or representations including colour and other pre-attentive attributes appear to be credible and/or informative. We have already considered the ethical implications of this trial, and this has been approved by R&D under the category of a service improvement project. The outcomes of our study will be reviewed in conjunction with science of improvement, psychology and communications literature to build guidelines for improvers. These guidelines are set up to also address learning preferences. Ultimately this will enable us to develop a resource that is both accessible and easy-to-use for improvers.  This will empower improvement teams to tell stories using visual information in a way that increases understanding and engagement. This supports

• reducing cognitive load when confronted with information (in particular graphs in presentations, reports and dashboards),
• promoting the understanding of complicated concepts by providing explanatory rather than explorative charts,
• building knowledge by understanding the core messages,
• developing effective communication strategies and
• facilitating appropriate decision-making.