Say What You See (SWYS)

The Language of High-Fidelity Simulation

Say What You See (SWYS) is the practice of using vividly descriptive, tangible language that provides the audience with "verbal instructions" on how to draw a scene in their mind’s eye. While intangible language describes rules or results (e.g., "Checkmate occurs when the king has no legal moves"), SWYS describes specific, observable details (e.g., "You count five crisp $100 notes as you hand back the grey, shivering kitten").

The Cognitive Impact of SWYS

SWYS is the primary driver for three core Reactions:

  • Imagination: It provides the raw data for literal image generation (VVIQ).

  • Processing Fluency: Complex ideas, like unilateral contracts, become instantly understandable when described as a physical scene.

  • Alertness: While sound and sight changes are more potent, visual descriptions provide the "rich content" that keeps the brain from filtering speech as background noise.

The Three Levels of SWYS Acquisition

To move a speaker from "reading a script" to "navigating a mental map," THPS utilizes a three-level training progression:

Level 1 (The Visual Script):

The student is given a physical image (e.g., a house falling apart) and must describe it as if reading words off a page.

Level 2 (The Extended Reality)

The student looks at the image but must "continue" the description beyond the frame—describing what is inside the house or how it looks after a renovation.

Level 3 (The Blindfold Presentation):

The student sees the image, it is taken away, and they must use their visual memory as the "script" for their delivery. This simulates elite performance, where a speaker relies on their mind’s eye rather than reading slides or notes.

Example: The Steve Jobs Graph

In his 2007 iPhone launch, Steve Jobs utilized a Level 1 SWYS approach. He showed a slide and described it, which was a simple X/Y axis—"Smart vs. Dumb" and "Easy to use vs. Hard to use".

Because the visual description was so simple (High Processing Fluency), the audience could redraw the diagram for themselves even after the slide was gone.

This concept is one of many core concepts under the THPS Glossary and THPS Standard for elite-level public speaking skills and training.