ICE Exchange Preview: Communicating with Infographics

The annual ICE Exchange conference, held this year in San Diego, California, from Nov. 18-21, is quickly approaching. Subject matter experts will lead a variety of sessions on hot topics in credentialing and there will be multiple opportunities to network and learn the latest insights.

We spoke with Gingi Arden, MBA, director of marketing and business development at Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI), and Carissa Homme, PhD, manager of test development and certification at CCI, who will be co-presenting at this year’s conference. On Wednesday, Nov. 20 they will lead the session, “How to Make a Picture Worth a Thousand Words: Communicating with Infographics.” Professionals from all areas of credentialing are welcome to attend and learn how to leverage visualization strategies to up their communications game.

We spoke with Arden and Homme to learn more about their session, why the subject is important to the community and more.

What is your experience with visual-based communication and why does it interest you?

“A picture’s worth a thousand words.” Visual-based communication is at the heart of this quip. It’s an exciting exercise in distilling information into pictorial soundbites — infographics that unravel complex information and synthesize it visually for stakeholders. One does not have to be an art designer to learn the basics. In fact, the design comes last (and can be contracted). The “art” is being able to break information into digestible pieces and creating a way to connect those pieces with little to no use of words. It’s a learnable skill we’re looking forward to sharing with session attendees.

In 2017, CCI was faced with the challenge of heightened accreditation expectations regarding recertification processes and the need to assess continuing competence. We needed an effective way to communicate our transition to a professional activity-based recertification model. Previous materials were copy-heavy, unappealing and far from user-friendly. Since certificant understanding was paramount, CCI revamped the way it communicated this information. Our new materials employ data visualization strategies to present information in energetic and engaging formats. Session participants will receive “before and after” examples of CCI’s materials. Additionally, the session will include a presentation based on CCI’s key learnings from implementing this approach.

Why is this topic important for those in the credentialing community?

Our stakeholders often don’t possess the same level of certification knowledge that we in the industry do. Effective use of visual-based communication bridges this gap and benefits the credentialing community by:

• Enabling certificants to independently understand certification concepts and make informed decisions as a result.
• Lessening the burden on customer care teams.
• Increasing stakeholder buy-in during transitions.
• Producing tangible communication tools useful across organizational areas. 

What are three takeaways attendees will get from your session?

Attendees will learn how complex information and processes can be distilled into effective stakeholder communications using infographics. They will also discover how to leverage internal staff expertise with external subject matter experts to implement visual communication strategies. The subject matter experts in graphic design, credentialing/quality assurance and marketing will lead participants in guided activities based on their individual challenges. At the conclusion, participants will leave with their personalized frameworks.

Our working session will include a lecture, small group activities, a Q&A and handout examples. Professionals from all areas of credentialing stand to benefit from this session, regardless of their marketing or design experience.