I was at the gym, doing my daily battle with the treadmill. The treadmill, as usual, was winning.

I glanced up at the row of big-screen TVs lining the wall. One of the sets was tuned to an NHL playoff game, which had arrived at a commercial break. I couldn’t hear anything. That’s one of the ironies of the gym — as loud as it is in that place, the one thing you can’t hear is the audio on the TVs.

In this case, I didn’t need to hear a thing. The picture told the story.

New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist guarded the net. Dozens of pucks sat on the ice in front of him. Not a single puck had made it past him. The camera shifted behind Lundqvist, and there, on top of the net, sat a box of … Advil.

Perfect.

You didn’t need any audio to know that being a goalie is a pain-inducing occupation. The visuals told that story perfectly.

As you tell your organization’s story, are you thinking in visual terms?

Some of today’s most effective communication tools are visual beasts — Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat. Even Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are increasingly embracing visual elements to draw users in.

Is your communications plan keeping up?

What was it that Elvis said? “A little less conversation, a little more action.” The question for all of us these days is this: How can we tell our stories in pictures?

And for you purists out there, this is a case of “and,” not “or.” Words continue to be powerful,  but make no mistake: It’s a visual world.

Our messages had better be visual, too.