Five Breaths Before You Facilitate

Keynote from Dr. Kandace Thomas, ED of First 8 Memphis

If you're a parent, you might know the term "co-regulation": that moment when you use your own calm energy to help settle a child who's overwhelmed. Guess what? This isn't just for parents and kids.

As a facilitator or meeting host, you're doing this all the time, whether you realize it or not.

When you're anxious before a big session, greeting people at the door with your shoulders up around your ears? That tension spreads. But when you're grounded and present? That flows outward too.

Which room would you rather walk into?

One of the simplest ways to shift your nervous system is to take five deep breaths. Sounds almost too simple, right? But it works – and there's science behind it.

When you slow your breathing, you're activating your parasympathetic nervous system, the part of you designed to calm down and rest. Researchers at Harvard found that even short periods of focused breathing can alter your body's stress response. And a  neuroscience study this year showed that people who practiced slow breathing for just a few weeks became measurably less anxious and fearful.

Five breaths. That's all it takes to set the energy in the room, starting with yourself.

If you need a breathing buddy, here's a GIF I made during the pandemic when we all needed a little extra help finding our calm:

Last month in Memphis, I had the privilege of working with a group of early childhood educators. Their Executive Director opened with a powerful keynote about co-regulation and how pivotal it is for young children, especially in those early years. She wove together research and heart in a way that reminded all of us: the energy we bring matters. Whether you're caring for a toddler or facilitating a boardroom, you're shaping the space with your presence.

So before your next meeting, maybe take some deep breaths. Your brain, and your group, will thank you!

Thank you for your collaboration, humor, and what you do to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Memphis, TN: With First 8 Memphis, a convener and support organization for early childhood educators and caregivers. They treated participants right – starting with a female DJ to hype the group and a viral comedian as an emcee…and of course a graphic recorder to capture ideas and keynotes. These ladies are contributing ideas to a Knowledge Wall which I took and synthesized into an illustration by the end of the day (see second image)!

Fully synthesized Knowledge Wall completed over the course of one day.

Virtual with CU Anschutz: Supporting conversations about the Low-Grade Glioma (LGG) Registry and encouraging people to participate to expand research toward treating LGGs.

Digital graphic recording from 45 minute conversation.

Transform Your Meetings: Two Essential Follow-Up Steps That Actually Work

You know that feeling when you leave a meeting energized? Ideas were flowing, people were doing deep thinking, and there was this sense that something meaningful was happening.

Then two weeks later... crickets.

I came across this research that breaks it down to two essential follow-up actions that can completely change your meeting game:

1. Send meeting notes within 24 hours

Send one page that captures:

• Each topic you discussed

• The key takeaways

• Specific actions with names and deadlines attached

Send notes out ASAP, definitely within 24 hours while the energy and details are still fresh in everyone's minds.

2. Follow up relentlessly

Here's what HBR found: talented, committed people do not always do what they say they will do. And we shouldn't be surprised when they don't; everyone's pulled in different directions with overflowing inboxes and competing priorities. Great leaders help their teams by following up and supporting folks to do what they said they would.

How Graphic Recording Changes Everything

These two ideas are simple, but simple is not necessarily easy. Working with a graphic recorder during your meeting helps take the big lift off your plate for both follow-up essentials:

📋 The meeting notes write themselves. Those key takeaways, action items, and commitments? They're already captured visually in real-time. No scrambling to remember who said what or trying to decipher hastily scribbled notes later.

🔍 Accountability becomes visible. When someone's name is connected to an action item on a big visual map that everyone can see, there's this natural sense of ownership that happens. It's not about pressure – it's about clarity.

💡 People actually remember. We process visual information 60,000 times faster than text. When ideas are captured visually, people can remember them better – then act on them.

📤 Following up feels natural. Instead of sending another text-heavy email that might get skimmed, you can share a photo of the graphic. Everything is right there – the context, the connections, the next steps. Use it in follow up meetings, slack messages, or one-on-ones to help your team get what matters most done.

Your Next Steps

1. Try the 24-hour rule: Send meeting summaries the same day

2. Build in follow-up: Schedule check-ins when you make commitments

3. Consider graphic recording: For your most important meetings, capture decisions visually for clearer follow-through

Curious about bringing graphic recording to your next strategic meeting? I'd love to hear what you're working on.

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Missoula, Montana: Working with the Blackfeet Nation to map out their needs and priorities for funding, then presenting to and connecting with funders and partners to continue the work after the meeting.

In the Studio: Working on videos for High Quality Individual Education Programs. You can see finished videos in the series here.

Thank you for your collaboration, humor, and what you do to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Make Your Press Release Pop with Graphic Recording

Let's be honest – when was the last time you got genuinely excited reading a press release? If you're scratching your head, you're not alone. Most press releases aren’t visually appealing, which is a shame because they're often sharing amazing things.

Take this story celebrating a grant win from my recent client, the University of Kentucky. The REACH (Research Evaluation and Analytics Capacity Hub) program will use AI and data to help smaller colleges and universities access more research funding.

This is where graphic recording can shine: Instead of expecting people to wade through dense text, we can create welcoming visual stories that invite everyone in. The graphic for this story is particularly special as it encapsulates the most important ideas shared from summit participants over the course of three days. Suddenly, that dense press release becomes a story you want to share with your friends.

Here's the secret sauce: graphic recording helps you to think like a storyteller. As we collaborate to plan visuals for your event, we guide you toward the core questions to find out what matters most to your participants and where you can make the biggest difference. When we're creating visuals, we naturally think about impact and connection rather than getting lost in technical details.

If you’re ready to follow up your event with visuals that will delight, you might partner with a graphic recorder after the event to create visual summaries alongside your written materials, or invite visual storytellers to capture the essence of your events in real-time.

The goal isn't to oversimplify – it's to honor both the complexity of your work and the diverse ways people prefer to receive information. When we make our stories more accessible, we're really saying we want everyone to be part of the conversation.

Because every important story deserves to be understood and appreciated by the people it's meant to serve.

Thank you for your collaboration, humor, and what you do to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Where in the Virtual World is ConverSketch?

Denver, Colorado: Supporting leaders and innovators in the fashion industry as they imagined what a regenerative, circular economy could look like.

Los Angeles, California: Back for the second year with the Irresistible Conference, which focused on using AI tools to support HR professionals and the organizations they serve.

Remote: Capturing a technology advisory council meeting for the Allen Institute, a leader in research and discovery around some of the biggest questions in bioscience. Here’s a snippet from the larger conversation.

Smart Ways Your Visual Notes Can Have Lasting Value

Screenshot of a ConverSketch illustration embedded in a post from USFWS Permits website.

When you bring a graphic recorder into your event, you’re making an investment financially, in your time, and in the success and impact of your event.

So, when I saw the way the Fish and Wildlife Service Permits team was using their visual notes from last summer, I knew I had to share it with you! Months later, they’re still creating engaging content chock full of visuals to maintain momentum and tell their stories.

What’s the secret to maximizing their investment in visuals?

We thought about it early in the process.

It’s that simple. In our initial discovery calls together, clarifying the Purpose, Outcomes and Process (POP) was step one. We made sure to not only discuss how visuals might best support the group on-site, but what their goals were for the charts after the workshop.

In these conversations, it became clear that capturing all the details of every session was less important, and creating more detailed illustrations of key ideas that could be used in digital content for months afterward was a priority.

Here are three questions you can ask yourself before any meeting to make sure you’re maximizing your time, whether you have a graphic recorder with you or not:

• What is our POP?

• What stories do we want people telling after the meeting?

• How can the graphics/follow up communication support this?

Thank you for your collaboration, humor, and what you do to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Children with Medical Complexity: You may recognize this project – I’ve had the pleasure of supporting Boston University’s research on family-centered care since 2020. This year, they’re building on the initial pilot and digging deeper into what those preliminary findings mean. Here’s one of the digital graphics from this year.

Video Series: Individualized Education Programs. In partnership with High Quality IEPs walks educators and administrators through the IEP process and shares WHY they matter and how they can make a positive difference in the lives of children with disabilities.

Watershed Perspectives

September brought fascinating work with clients across the country and across sectors, but one theme kept emerging organically. This is one of my favorite things about being a graphic facilitator – we get to listen, learn and make connections.

This month I keep hearing a similar idea from a team working on resilient coasts and watersheds, to social and ecological scientists working in mountain systems around the world, to community-led conservation practitioners:  

The same small perspective just doesn’t cut it. To really solve problems for our environment and people, we need to look at challenges from a larger perspective, like a watershed. If we’re only looking to solve problems for one community or piece of the ecosystem, there are bound to be repercussions or solutions that don’t last. Looking for system connections

Is there a way for you to take a “watershed” approach to a problem or challenge to look for a solution in a place you may not have thought of?

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Seattle, WA: Facilitating with the Wilderness Society’s Community-Led Conservation team as they explore what it would take to create a supportive, inclusive, and effective community of practice.

Basalt, CO: With mountain researchers from around the world exploring the potential of creating a new alliance to elevate indigenous and mountain community voices for better climate policy.

Denver, CO: With the Attainment Network learning and sharing about different career pathways to support students who may not choose to or think they can attend university.

Virginia Beach, VA: With the Environmental Defense Fund kicking off a series of systems thinking workshops for the Resilient Coasts and Watersheds team – the rest of the workshops are virtual throughout the fall.

A Simple Shift in Asking Questions for Better Answers

Imagine you’re in a class or a meeting, and the teacher or facilitator asks the group a question. Now picture two different paths that can unfold directly after the question is asked:

A)    The question asker continues talking, explaining it in a different way without being asked to, or elaborating on the task at hand. Then they immediately ask for someone to share their answer, and before you’ve fully processed, you’re not really listening as others begin to share and you’re still figuring out what you think.

B)     After simply asking the question, the question asker says they’re going to pause for a moment to let everyone think. They take some time, but 30 seconds later when they ask for someone to start sharing, you feel present and ready because you’ve had the space to process the question and think about your answer.

I’ve noticed when I’m graphically facilitating and ask a group a question, I tend to want to keep explaining or talking rather than sitting with the silence.

But when I’m a participant being asked a question, if I don’t have the time to process, then I’m either not ready or not listening to others’ responses because I’m scrambling to think of my response.

The simple solution: Take a pause.

What if you’re the one asking the question and you feel uncomfortable with silence? If nobody answers right away, are they even paying attention? Probably!

• Explain what you’re doing and why, then pause

• Take a drink of water

• Count to 5 slowly in your mind to give it something to do

• Send the questions ahead of time if you know some folks will want more time to process

• (or all of the above)

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Fort Collins: Facilitating a creative visioning workshop for the CSU Energy Institute as they look at how to be leaders in climate over the next 10 years. Here’s a custom drawing I did to explain a key aspect of the organizer’s framing talk - we didn’t need any slides the entire day!

In the Studio: Recording the last couple of digitally hand-drawn explainer videos on the books this year before parental leave, wrapping up summary illustrations for regional food dialogues from around the state which will be printed and hung as massive posters at a Summit in December, and preparing to graphically facilitate a series of systems thinking workshops over the next two months! Here’s a snippet of one of the posters:

Collectively & Creatively Reinventing Expectations

Have you felt it?

During and as the pandemic has evolved, I’ve heard and felt the same thing you probably have.

“I’m so busy…”

“It’s crazy these days.”

“Parenting and working is just…a lot right now.” (Understatement)

The burnout is real. So is the creative reinvention.

What can we do to dial the intensity of expectations down together, collectively and creatively?

If you work with people, here are some suggestions I’ve see and heard lately:

• Establish communication norms. Is there a platform where instant replies are/aren’t expected? One group I recently graphic facilitated articulated that a Teams message could be sent any time, and the recipient would respond when they were able. More urgent matters were direct phone calls.

• Practice a monthly Deepening Day. This team also imagined a once-a-month day dedicated to any sort of personal or professional development the person felt would best serve them. Ideas ranged from attending events to making time for extended lunches with partners or colleagues to setting an away message from email to focus on deep work.

• Live the values: Whether you’re a leader or a co-worker, shifting culture starts with each person on the team. Demonstrating by not responding immediately to every email, or sharing insights from your Deepening Day, or taking those vacation days can all contribute to shifting the pace and expectations we hold each other to.

And really, take that time off to breathe.

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

In the Studio: Working on video storyboards, synthesis illustrations, and preparing to facilitate a workshop here in Fort Collins next week. Here’s a close-up of one of 11 regional local food gatherings around the state of Colorado I’m visually distilling for display at a Summit happening this winter.

Back from the River: There’s nothing like six days completely offline to refresh and reset. Here’s a painting of the stunning canyon created from camp one evening.

How to Scale Your Work Up, Even When Once Size Doesn’t Fit All

Have you ever been wildly proud of something you or your team accomplished, but then wondered…Can this scale?

One of my favorite things about being a graphic recorder is that I get to work across sectors and pick up on patterns and shifts. For example, right now, three of my clients are all figuring out how to scale across the country in very different areas:

• Supporting children with medical complexity and their families in hospitals and clinics

• Helping communities become more resilient in the face of large-scale wildfires

• And creating a national community of practice around community-led conservation

While there is not one path forward, some real gems became clear last week with the team working with children with medical complexity. I thought these ideas deserved a little airtime, and maybe YOU are working on scaling too…perhaps there’s a keeper in here for you!

• Take an iterative approach - start small, test an idea, and learn and grow from there. Remember: It doesn’t have to be perfect!

• Scaling complex work takes time. In a world of instant gratification and grant-makers wanting results, this may be tricky…and also imperative.

• Relationships are key to building trust, which is key to being able to move quickly or be patient when needed.

• Facilitate communication across teams regularly, in-person if you can, to build those relationships and cross-pollinate ideas.

• Take what you’ve learned in each place and weave it together for solutions that are greater than the sum of the parts. You may already have a solution!

• Ask those you’re serving to be part of the process (and compensate them for their expertise and participation!).

• You already know enough. While it’s almost always tempting to want/NEED more data, you probably already know enough to take the first steps.

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Chicago, Illinois: After working together remotely in 2020-2021, it was an absolute joy to get to meet the convening team and state teams working together to improve the lives of children with medical complexity and their families. Closing this multi-year pilot in a flawless hybrid meeting, the teams shared their key insights, discussed what’s next, and how to sustain the work moving forward.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Graphically facilitating for a leadership team at US Fish and Wildlife Service to craft a visual metaphor telling the story of equity, inclusion, and creating a welcoming organization for all employees.

Virtual with Adobe Creative Campuses: Sharing and learning with Creative Campuses across the globe, these quarterly gatherings are always lively, a lovely way to build community virtually, and thoughtfully curated to create welcoming and informative spaces! The sessions start today, so here’s a graphic from the spring!

The Underrated Potential of Designing Time to Connect in a Retreat

Is your team is planning an off-site retreat soon? If you are, I cannot recommend one thing to your agenda design team enough.

If you want to…

• Make the most of the fact your team traveled to (most likely) an intentional location

• Help shift mindsets from “me” to “we”

• Build trust

• Leverage your time together in person…

Build in unstructured time for your group to get to know each other.

It can be so tempting to pack every last moment of an agenda with work to get done, especially after 2+ years of mostly remote collaboration. But here’s what happened when we didn’t do that with a group I got to graphically facilitate through a 2-day offsite in person last week.

This team is geographically dispersed, and some folks had been hired during the pandemic, so they had never met together as an entire group in person. Together, we designed an agenda that began with a day of hiking and an optional group dinner before we even began to talk strategic planning. Meeting them the next day, I never would have guessed they hadn’t met together before. The participants themselves remarked at how connected they felt even after just 3 days together.

If you don’t have time for a full day of hiking, fear not! We also created optional semi-structured opportunities for participants to get to know each other during lunch and infused each day with activities that provided a chance to share personal stories in large and small groups, like the one above.

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Where in the Virtual World is ConverSketch?

Boulder, Colorado: For the previously mentioned focused, fun, and collaborative off-site retreat for a team of arctic policy researchers. Thank you IARPC Collaborations for the work you’re doing for our planet!

Fort Matanzas Video is live! The final installment of the Drawing Connections to Climate Change illustrated video series is out in the world – find out how you can help protect habitats that support the beautiful and diverse wildlife of the Florida Coast! Note: I am not currently taking on new video projects.

Getting Ready for GCSE Global Conference - Will You Be There? The Global Council on Science and the Environment is hosting their annual virtual conference June 21-24, 2022. If you’re a Member Institution, an unlimited number of participants from your school can attend for free! To register or learn more about the event, click here. Here’s a graphic from last year’s conference!

POP It!

Having a clear purpose in a meeting is something you’ve heard from me before – whether it’s a 15-minute check in or a 2-day off-site, when the organizers and the participants are extremely clear on the purpose of why they’re being asked to be there, engagement and the ability to measure if the outcomes were successful follow.

And, thanks to this excellent blog from Drawing Change, I just learned about a super handy, straightforward tool to make the meeting planning even better. It’s called POP, which stands for: 

Purpose, Outcome, Process

Developed by the Rockwood Institute, beyond defining the Purpose, or your why for convening the meeting, you add two more simple ideas. Your Outcome “speaks to what – the vision of what success will look and feel like when you “arrive.” And finally, your Process outlines the “how – the specific steps involved in getting there.”

It’s easy to jump straight to the process design, but if you’re clear on why you’re there and what it will look and feel like to be successful, that enormous investment of time, energy, resources, thinking, good food, and space together will be easier to measure and follow through on. 

So, here’s a graphic facilitator style worksheet you can use to help your group work through your POP for your next meeting – I hope you enjoy it!

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers, 

Where in the Virtual World is ConverSketch?

River Investigators Action Guide is Out in the World! I’ve had the joy of collaborating with watershed researchers at Colorado State University to illustrate an activity guide for children to explore our local river, the Cache la Poudre. Here’s a snapshot, and you can see a video of me flipping through pages on Instagram.

ShapingEDU Mini-Summit: Emerging Credentials Standards: Convening educators, industry professionals, and folks in K-12 education to discuss the future, power, and challenges of badges and credentials in addition to or in place of a traditional 4-year college degree. 

Learner Perspectives on Career-Connected Education Symposium: In another event focused on students, this symposium centered learners as speakers and panelists to guide the conversation and offer suggestions to make it easier to navigate the higher education system for successful career paths.