1.
Visuals imply.
They don't say that "you
will have fun." They show kids having
fun: playing with the product, or frolicking on the beach with friends -- drinking
the cola or wearing the clothes.
These "cool kids," of course, are usually young actors,
well selected and rehearsed.
Most of us, if we think about it, know this.
But, we're not always so rational. Our emotions are involved
here. We, too, want to have fun, to have friends. So we unconsciously identify
with them, and with the products associated with them.
Senders imply. Receivers infer. Visuals
always force the viewer to co-create: to infer, "to fill in the blanks,"
and often "to jump to conclusions."
2.
Visuals are edited.
People often think that "pictures don't lie."
Today, with simple digital editing programs (such as Photoshop)
available, it's easy to manipulate photos: adding, subtracting, and changing
elements.
But, even before this development, the basic selection/omission
process has always been used to emphasize what is presented to
an audience.
Analyzing visuals is concerned with what the
camera includes and excludes (from a larger context), and how it is presented
(e.g. close-ups, slow-motion, camera angles, juxtapositions, colors, and so
on).
For example, if you wanted to create a video or photo essay
emphasizing how people at your school are happy, you would select pictures
of smiling faces, and omit the others. Your pictures would be "true,"
but not the whole truth.
Senders imply. Receivers infer. Visuals
always force the viewer to co-create: to infer, "to fill in the blanks,"
and often "to jump to conclusions."
v3.
Nonverbals also imply a message without using words.
The formal study of nonverbal communication
is relatively recent, even though all humans communicate before they're two
years old and learn words to speak.
Such "body language"
is the natural way people learn to communicate with facial expressions (smiles,
frowns, eye contact); body gestures, space relationships (e.g. standing close
together, or far apart), and other nonverbals (touch, taste, smell).
Nonverbal analysis can also include the context, the background
(nature, exciting activity, beautiful homes, and so) and the sounds or music.
Music, especially, suggests very strong emotional
associations, such as sadness or joy, love songs or patriotic songs.
Nonverbal deception is
much harder to detect than explicit verbal deception: "lies."
Nonverbals are also harder to regulate because the law and lawyers, traditionally,
are word-oriented. ("I didn't say that!") No one yet
has defined all of the possible ways that one can deceive or create illusions
with nonverbals.
For example, FTC regulators specifically banned the use of
white-coated "doctors" (complete with stethoscopes) in TV ads as being
"deceptive," because these images implied or suggested medical endorsements.
So, advertisers simply switched to presenters, who were well dressed in suits,
standing in an office in front of bookshelves filled with medical textbooks.
Senders imply. Receivers infer. Nonverbals
always force the viewer to co-create: to infer, "to fill in the blanks,"
and often "to jump to conclusions."
Visuals
imply: they implicitly suggest much more than words explicitly
say.