How SmartDraw Solves Communication Problems
Anyone who has ever worked in an organization understands that many problems are caused by a breakdown in communication. Here are some of the most common:
- Mistakes are made because the employee has not been properly trained to perform the task.
- The project is late because the people involved did not properly identify all of the work that had to be done.
- The project is late because the people working on it did not know what each other were doing.
- Finger-pointing happens because responsibilities were not clearly established and communicated.
- The business plan fails because most of the organization never understood the strategy and goals.
- Errors occur because the specifications for a job were not clearly understood.
- Sales are lost because the customer does not understand how the product being sold could solve their problem.
SmartDraw helps solve these problems by making it possible for a typical person to communicate up to six times more effectively.
Everyone understands that "a picture is worth a thousand words," whether it's a flowchart to explain a business process, a Gantt chart to show a project schedule, an organizational chart, or a map to the emergency exit.
Studies show that communicating with both words and pictures is up to six times more effective than words alone. Yet less than 2% of business communication includes a visual. Why? Because, until now, creating a professional-quality visual has been just too hard, and too time-consuming.
SmartDraw is the only software that solves this problem.
Before SmartDraw, the only option for adding visuals to business communication was to use manual drawing software like Adobe Illustrator® and Microsoft Visio®. For most people the painstaking effort of manually arranging shapes, lines and text on a page is just not worth the time, and for many computer users, these programs were just too hard to use. Only experts use manual drawing software. Illustrator®is used by graphics arts professionals and Visio® is used by less than 5% of Microsoft Office® users, mainly IT professionals. There was no solution for ordinary users, and this is why very little business communication takes advantage of the 6X power of visual communication.
SmartDraw is the only software that makes it possible for the average business person to create their own presentation-quality visuals in minutes. It does this in three unique ways:
- It's automated. Instead of forcing you to draw visuals manually, SmartDraw draws and formats the visual for you, ensuring a professional result every time. You can even use the keyboard to compose your visual.
- It's comprehensive. SmartDraw is the only software that allows you to create every kind of visual—more than 70 different types—including flowcharts, timelines, org charts, mind maps, floor plans, marketing charts and more.
- It's integrated. SmartDraw is the only software that works this seamlessly with Microsoft Office®. One click is all it takes to transfer your visual to Word® or PowerPoint®. Easily import chart data from Excel®. Exchange project management data with Project® users. Even build an entire PowerPoint® presentation with a single click. It also supports SharePoint® and can import Visio® files.
Let's look at each of the communication problems above and see how using visuals made with SmartDraw can correct the problem.
