EXPERT TIPS FOR GRAPHIC RECORDING SUCCESSby Angelique McAlpine It's not uncommon for me to field questions from many of you who are unsure whether to inquire about Graphic Recording, Graphic Facilitation, Visual Note-taking, Scribing, Graphic Note-taking, Live Meeting Notes, or Sketch Notes. And that's perfectly okay – these industry terms can often seem like a confusing web as they mostly refer to similar services. I've put together a brief guide that aims to clarify the 'what's what' and 'who's who' in the sphere of visual meetings. Spoiler alert: It's really just two categories. Graphic Recorder or Visual Note-taker, Graphic Note-taker, Scribe, Visual Scribe, Graphic Scribe, Meeting Illustrator, Sketch Noter etc. All the same thing! We are passive presence in the room listening intently and drawing what we hear;. We may create a single drawing that synthesizes major themes and connections, or many detailed drawings throughout the event. A full portfolio of my Graphic Recordings can be viewed here. Graphic Facilitator
A Graphic Facilitator takes an active role designing and guiding participants through a process, using visual tools such as templates, visualization cards, stickies, digital feedback tools, Mural and Miro, etc. Below is a template designed by a facilitator and the Graphic Facilitator working in partnership. Also shown is the template after the group worked their way through interactive processes that had them working individually, in pairs, and small groups, with a full group share out. Planning is key to creating a Journey Map or Heritage Wall that includes input from across your organization. As a Graphic Facilitator we will work together to design a process that is inclusive and energizing for your organization. EXAMPLE 1 A full day Graphic Facilitation with faculty from an elementary school during a day of Professional Development. We created a 10 year timeline (Journey Map, or Heritage Wall) of their school history. The educators worked in teams briefly in the morning to review their institutional history and post stickies of their content, which we then categorized. They dispersed to other workshops and we came together to wrap up the day with a review and appreciation of their Heritage Wall. A powerful experience for new and returning staff - there was an appreciation for the wisdom developed along the way, long-time staff felt recognized, new staff felt included and honored to join the continuing journey. EXAMPLE 2 A group of health care professionals on a multi-day strategic planning retreat set aside an hour of their time to change modalities from presentation and discussion, to working with art supplies to tell the stories of their organization at 3, 5 and 10 years into the future. They worked together in small groups drawing out their ideas and placing them around the room in each time frame. They took me on a gallery walk and shared their visions with the entire group. I spent the remainder of the day synthesizing work into a single illustration. As the facilitation team revisited the graphic with them, it became apparent which areas were ripe for deeper discussion and where there was commonality of vision. Example 3
This organization provided a printed summary of their 20 years of accomplishments. the process was an initial sketch, feedback, and a final sketch. |
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