How I Prepare for Live Graphic Recording: Visual Notetaking Tips You Can Start Using Today

If you and I have met and had a conversation about visual thinking, there’s a good chance I’ve enthusiastically shared that I believe anyone can draw, and anyone can take visual notes. 

Aside from the fact that we are innately visual creatures and a few tips can spark creativity, I’ve learned through the years that there are things I can do that help me feel more confident and consistently help me produce my favorite work. 

One secret is that taking time to prepare before live graphic recording really helps me set myself up for success. These are strategies I use all the time that you’ll be able to implement at your next meeting to infuse your own notes with some visual flair. 

Each tip is followed by a snippet from my sketchbooks as an example. Here we go! 

Look through an agenda and practice sketching ideas for how to visualize concepts that will almost certainly come up – specific animals, equipment, or activities.

Play with potential layouts – even if I don’t know how the conversation will emerge, if I have some ideas sketched out I’ve found I’m more confident and it’s easier to adapt or add more detail if I’ve already spent some time thinking about it. 

Pick your colors – as Brandy Agerbeck says, use color MORE, rather than using more color! Pick colors for very important ideas, or to add patterns in the background. This is especially helpful when working digitally and you can use literally any color – paring down up front helps make decisions quickly in the moment. 

Draw out session titles and key names/affiliations if you know them, that way you’re not trying to spell someone’s name correctly while listening to their brilliant ideas and trying to get it all down.

Keep scratch paper nearby for taking notes. I do this less working digitally as it’s easy to move or erase ideas, but it’s still helpful to have a sketchbook nearby to jot down a great quote or statistics to incorporate later. 

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?

Back from Idaho: Where we spent two weeks unplugging and whitewater rafting! Here’s a shot from the South Fork of the Salmon River. Photo: Josh Metten

Procinorte: Even though I was offline most of the time, I was still able to jump back into Zoom for two days of agriculture and climate researchers from Canada, Mexico, and the United States discussing how to improve collaboration across borders for food and climate security. 

3 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Virtual Whiteboard

By now, most of us have experienced more video conferences than we can count (why, in the name of all that is holy, would we ever have the desire to count?). 

Which means over the past year, as a graphic facilitator in the digital sphere, I’ve collaborated with clients to create custom templates for virtual whiteboard platforms for events where participants say things like: 

This was the best zoom meeting I’ve been to!

- Participant at the 2021 Zero Landfill Initiative Retreat

And…

I had the Miro board up throughout the entire 3-day conference!

- Participant at the 2021 Zusman Neuroregeneration Symposium

So, how can we get these same exclamations at your virtual event? 

Let’s go ahead and take some work right off your plate and share what I’ve learned through trial, error, and following discoveries of others experimenting in this space. 

Hot tips: 

• Include important logistics such as the agenda, zoom links, survey links, etc. I create a custom layout with visual elements for specific sessions or for general feedback. In addition, I’ve learned it’s helpful for participants to be able to easily navigate the multiple links, web pages, and documents if they’re all linked into the board you’re using.

• Build time to engage with it into your agenda. This is KEY to successfully using a virtual whiteboard. To make the most of this tool you’ve invested in using, BE SURE to include time(s) each day to engage with the whiteboard. Whether it’s an activity, or just time to network, 10 minute blocks of time can make a huge difference to help participants connect. BONUS: Remind people where to find it – drop the link in to the chat box regularly.

• Add a new element each day. In a multi-day virtual event, once participants start to get the hang of navigating your whiteboard space, create new elements for them to interact with each day. Make them delightful and useful – asking specific questions about content or simply providing a space for a morning/afternoon reflection creates a reason to draw people back in, and more opportunities to connect with each other.

Curious which virtual collaboration platform is right for you? This post contains a brief pros and cons of a few popular ones here. Have a tool you love? Please share it with me, I always enjoy learning from the Brain Trust (all y’all).  

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?

Houston Methodist Neuroregeneration Symposium: Capturing key ideas from heady talks about how to repair neural function after spinal cord injury. My favorite thing about this workshop is how focused it is on creating space for collaborations between labs and fields of study!

Friends of Refuges Annual Meeting: For the Suwannee and Cedar Key Friends of Refuges, covid didn’t keep these folks from sharing updates and anthropological research from the area in a virtual setting! Did you know that Swallow-Tailed Kites migrate 5,000 miles over 2 months to get to Brazil each winter? 

Ready to create a unique and engaging virtual whiteboard for your event?

Weird Holidays? Draw Happy Little Winter Trees

Hello!

As we lean into the darkest time of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere, creating space, physically or mentally, to rest can feed our souls. 

In this especially weird year, it might feel better to begin looking forward as soon each day will get a little longer. Stay tuned for one more ConverSketch newsletter before the end of the year with a template to help guide a vision board for 2021.

For now, here’s one way to draw some Happy Little Winter Trees – have fun, play, and root down to cultivate presence with a tree doodle. 

Wishing you a warm, joyful, and safe holiday season. I am SO APPRECIATIVE that you’re a part of my life and I’m looking forward to celebrating and co-creating safely together in 2021!

Cheers, 

Where in the Virtual World is ConverSketch?

Denver Housing Authority: Designing and guiding a three-part series for a team to fortify their connections after months working virtually and to explore ways to help each other and participants in a very complex system.

Virtual Facilitation Workshop for the Earth Leadership Program: Equipping researchers with best practices for virtual meeting platforms, how to design an engaging online process, and tips and tricks to plan for a successful convening in a remote world. 

Southwest Beef Knowledge Network: How can ranchers raise healthy cows in a way that supports the environment and can be adapted to a changing climate? This network shared best practices in ranching and education around their findings, a rare and delightful combination (get the beef pun?).

Painting: After many months not feeling extra creativity beyond ConverSketching, recently I picked up my paintbrushes and dove into an acrylic painting project. Rivers and Canyons are special places for me, so this painting will happily hang in our home.

Brighten your Day with an Appreciation Map

This time of year in the US many of us think about what we appreciate as the holiday season begins. Even with covid, especially with covid, I have found that cultivating a practice of appreciation boosts my mood and energy.

Appreciation helps me put things into perspective, remember my privilege, and slow down to recognize all the beautiful things happening around us every day. 

To really cement this practice, shockingly, I like to map out visually what I appreciate. 

Even if you’re not “artistic” – there are simple ways to use size, color, and layout to make your notes more visual.

Last week I gave a brief overview of these tips in my Digital Visual Notes workshop as a “watch party” from the session hosted at ShapingEDU’s LearningHuman last summer. 

Here’s the link to the free one-hour session packed with ideas and tips to make your digital and analog notes more visual!

Why take the extra visual step? To boost memory, helping manage overwhelm, create deeper understanding, and for seeing patterns.

So, I encourage you to take 5 minutes and doodle out what you appreciate. Just write or doodle what comes to mind when you ask yourself: 

What do I appreciate today? 

Not keen on grappling with a blank sheet of paper? You can use this template. And if you want to learn to draw a turkey, click right there – both links take you to more resources on appreciation and gratitude.

I APPRECIATE YOU! 

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?

Currently in the midst of UNICON 2020: A global Executive MBA conference hosted by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management. Here’s a snapshot of a Miro board I designed for an interactive session for over 400 participants!

Queer Student Panel: This intimate and authentic panel of students in the LGBTQ+ community at Regis University was by students, for students. They curated a space where new connections were made and stories were shared honestly and humbly.  

The Newest Drawing Connections illustrated video is out for the National Park Service! Take a journey through the history of Castillo de San Marcos in Florida and find out how it is affected by climate change.

Rooted in Green Practices: ConverSketch’s Sustainability Philosophy

Since I was a child, natural places have always been a core piece of who I am and what I value. It’s only natural (heh) that sustainability and environmentally-conscious decisions have permeated ConverSketch since it’s business childhood. Since the business was born while I was finishing my master’s degree in environmental communication focusing on climate change, I love that many of my clients are in the sustainability and natural resource field, with work that makes the world a better place.

So, I figured its high time I shared a few of the ways that I embody my value of sustainability in the work as a graphic recorder and facilitator. Workshops can be resource-intensive, and I’ve made some intentional choices about materials, medium, and travel to align with my values.

• Carbon Offsets: Each trip is calculated through Native Energy, a carbon offset company that’s approved of by the Sierra Club.

• Refillable Markers from Neuland mean I’ve had the same marker bodies since 2012 when ConverSketch began. You can even replace the tips to keep them fresh!

• Digital Graphic Recording: An option that means no paper products nor markers used – all drawings are captured via iPad and projected up on screens for participants to enjoy!

• Falconboard: Recyclable alternative to foam boards, these mean I can still provide “analog” graphic recording with markers and boards or responsibly-sourced paper.

• Reusable Wooden Stands (or Easels): To prop the boards up to be free-standing and easy to move.

• Everyday Lifestyle Choices: I always keep a set of reusable wooden utensils in my purse to avoid single-use plastic utensils, and when I can, I ride my bike to local meetings and events, as well as growing veggies in the summer and raising hens for fresh eggs. Boy, those birds are happy!

Want more tips on plastic-free living and good environmental news? Check out the wildly talented Sarah Uhl and sign up for her monthly newsletter for quality content!

Ready for some evergreen drawings to keep your ideas and planning sustainable long-term?

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 Worth, Texas: At an eye care digital summit. We spent the week building relationships across a global team, clarifying goals, strategies, and how to differentiate in the market. Although I can’t share specific content, I was able to work in some sea life with extra-special vision.

Where is YOUR Team’s Energy Going? One Way to Clarify for Sure.

Have you ever thought about something, then a few days or weeks later, that little thought has popped up in your life as a reality?

It’s such a treat to experience “energy flows where attention goes” -- in my personal life, and with groups using the graphics I create with them.

The visuals serve as focal points for groups to make connections or build shared agreement, illuminate a previously murky story, and reflect on their experiences together. They can also become “professional vision boards” for the organization to keep what’s most important front-of-mind among the complex systems they’re working in, for the coming weeks, months, even years.

It’s delightful to notice when thoughts seem to bring things to life, and for me it’s important to take time to appreciate them. Paying attention and offering gratitude is one of my favorite ways to stay centered, especially in the crazy times (cough, holidaze anyone? Click that link for some strategies to take it on with style and grace).

This week, as folks across the US take time to practice gratitude, I’d like to say I’m SO appreciative for you, my readers! Even if we haven’t met in person, you matter to me and I put my energy into these missives because you’re worth it! So, here’s a favorite from a few Novembers past – let’s draw turkeys!

Looking for ways to focus your team’s attention on what matters most?

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your partnership, 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?

I’m on vacation this week! Thanks in advance for slower than usual response times. Here’s what’s been happening in November:

Denver, Colorado: For the second annual Water in the West Symposium. Professionals across the food, environment, and municipal landscape discussed solutions to the challenges around water in the high desert.

Scottsdale, Arizona: With an executive leadership team. While I can’t share what I captured, here’s a digital welcome illustration I created for the first morning.

Denver, Colorado (again): To graphic record a visioning and relationship-building workshop for the Housing Innovation Alliance Live Round Table. The Alliance brought stakeholders together and designed a conversation-based day to ideate around the concept of creating Attainable Housing for All.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: When the office is the children’s science museum, you know it’s going to be a great day. Explora Museum brought me in to capture hands-on presentations about how to integrate STEAM (science, technology, engineering, ARTS, and math) into early childhood education!

The CSU Powerhouse: Graphic facilitating for leaders in Colorado’s hydrogen energy development. The group shared the state of the science and explored Colorado’s potential to lead the path toward massive decarbonization by using hydrogen.

In the Studio: Working on several studio illustration projects. Here’s a snapshot of a digital illustration for the team at IPBES to bring the words and details of their capacity-building strategy to life!

Tales from New Jersey Part 2: What I Decided to Step Into and How It Went

Have you ever shared something that seemed like second nature to you, but when you shared it, people were delighted and learned something new?

Last month I got to surround myself and learn from others in my professional field at the International Forum of Visual Practitioners (IFVP) conference. Here’s part two of my reflections from the event on where the field is headed and where I’m showing up.

For the first time, I presented a breakout workshop during the conference. At IFVP, I’ve always seen myself as a newbie, even though I’ve been a graphic recorder and facilitator for more than 8 years. I love teaching and facilitating, and I thought it was about time I offered something from my perspective back to my community. The topic? Email marketing that feels authentic AND builds your business.

Stepping into my expertise felt GREAT. People had a blast and applied what they learned. I may have flossed (the dance move, not the dental hygiene…At least not during my workshop). Sharing things that seemed obvious to me were revelations for my audience, and it was a treat to get to share more of my quirks and winning humor with my captive audience ;).

So I encourage you to consider: How might you stepping into ownership of your knowledge? How are you giving back to your community? Whether it’s volunteering or simply offering smiles to strangers, you can have an impact far greater than you know!

Want your meetings to have a greater impact? Let’s talk about how visuals can elevate engagement, understanding, and action at your event!

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?

CU Boulder: Teaching a short-course on basics of visual communication and graphic recording for the Master of the Environment summer program. These students got it right away and immediately jumped in with two feet to re-design infographics on agriculture in Boulder County.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Back with the New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force to support a Summit on Maternity and Infant Care for professionals across the state. A favorite session and graphic recording chart was on Mindfulness Meditation as a tool for self care. Namaste!

Aspen, Colorado: For the 10th annual Tech Policy Institute Aspen Forum! I learned about and scribed everything from “tech-lash” to cryptocurrency regulation to AI and machine learning and the role policy plays

Crossing the Divide – How to Find Common Ground Among Diverse Perspectives

Whether it’s national politics or internal to your organization, we all hear stories about polarized viewpoints, and the challenge of working across silos.

At the same time, we know that diversity is not only healthy, but also builds resilience when things don’t go as planned.

So how do you harness the inherent tension that bringing diverse perspectives, and potentially combative ones, together to build a strong, shared path forward?

Here are four suggestions for finding common ground from my experience as a graphic facilitator:

-          Create space for context setting and relationship building. Often overlooked or dismissed as “wasting time”, building in time at the beginning of the event, as well as throughout, to clearly outline the “why” of the meeting and for participants to get to know one another allows for more ease when conversations get difficult.

-          Put more time than you think into developing questions to surface shared values, such as “What is important about the work we do?” can provide a window into the group. Having a few open-ended questions like “What should we do about __________?” provide space for participants to surface concerns or solutions the planning team might have missed, but are integral to moving forward successfully.

-          Build in less structured time. This is another piece that often feels like a “waste” of time, but is vitally important to cultivating trust and creativity. This is especially true if much of the agenda will be presentations or panels – you’ve invested in bringing all these important people together to work toward a goal, now give them the freedom to use those brains and hearts to do the work!

-          Draw it out with the intent of surfacing shared ground. Graphic facilitation or recording is a tool to leverage to literally show the group where they’re in agreement. Partnering with a graphic facilitator who can work with you to listen and capture through a particular “lens” to help surface shared values or tensions helps the group keep track of complex, moving parts to build a shared picture of what’s important.

Have you been looking for common ground on an issue? Click that button to explore how we can leverage visual tools for lasting success.

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?

The Colorado Front Range: Working with a public health team and their partners as they evaluate an assessment to use the data to support the community, and hospital managers to think more deeply about building trust in their teams.

In the Studio: Painting up another explainer video for the US Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS). This video will be available in October, but for now, here’s another look at a video created for the RMRS last year.

One Simple Question You Can Use to Train Your Brain to Apply Systems Thinking to Any Challenge

I’m on a learning-about-systems-thinking-kick. Why? Because the challenges and questions I’m seeing across sectors with the clients I partner with are more complex, more dynamic, and require solutions that address root causes.

And I want you to have the skills to recognize systems at play and know how to look for creative solutions that lift your team to the next level.

My last post covered the basics of systems thinking and a few everyday places to observe systems in action.

Okay, so it’s easy to see how stocks and flows apply to a bathtub, or feedback loops are seen in bank account interest.  

But what about starting from scratch? Where to begin?

Here’s a gem from Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows. Ask yourself:

If A causes B, is it also possible that B causes A?

Alright Karina, bring it back down. What does that actually look like?

If perceived lack of control causes low employee engagement, is it also possible that low employee engagement causes perceived lack of control?

Or…If not having a shared vision causes a siloed organization, is it also possible that a siloed organization causes not having a shared vision?

And if you want to get even more cerebral, she also challenges readers to “Try to think of a human decision that occurs without a feedback loop.”

 Do you have a persistent challenge your organization keeps coming back to? If you think some visual strategizing could illuminate a new solution…

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: Filming a new illustrated video for the National Park Service Climate Change Response Program, creating digital illustrations, and prepping for a lot of travel next week.

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It's been a month since we've been back from rafting the Grand Canyon and I'm stoked to share this shot taken by my husband - that's me in the light blue rowing through a rapid called Upset! Click on the photo to see a larger version! Photo: Spencer Branson

Three Ways You Already Use Systems Thinking

Hey folks!

Systems thinking is one of my favorite tools to use with clients because it pairs really well with graphic facilitation, and it almost always leads to new insights and solutions.

And, systems thinking can be a complex, nebulous, and overwhelming.

For me, this boils down to two factors:

-          The world isn’t as simple as we’d like, so truly seeking to make change or find the root cause of things takes some digging

-          I was over-complicating the theory in my head

Thinking in systems, while not necessarily simple, is natural for us. We navigate them every day! Here are three ways you’re probably already using systems thinking.

Bathtubs. This everyday example illustrates the concept of stocks (elements of the system) and flows (how stocks change). When you turn on the water, you know the bathtub will take some time to fill up. And, when you pull the drain plug, you know it takes time to completely empty. So, with this simple example, you can see how stocks act as delays or buffers in the system (the tub isn’t instantly full or empty). If the tub is half full and you pull the plug and turn the water on at the same rate it’s leaving, you can see how the stock of water will be maintained at the same level (this is called dynamic equilibrium).

Caffeine. If you drink coffee or caffeinated tea, if you feel your energy level dropping, you might make yourself a cuppa to pick yourself back up to the desired level of energy. Your stock here is energy, and the caffeine is a flow. The energy delivery isn’t instantaneous; there’s a gap. This gap is what drives your decision on when and how much caffeine to drink. This illustrates a balancing feedback loop: energy available leads to a discrepancy (gap), which leads to drinking coffee, which leads back to energy available.

Your Savings Account. This next example shows us about reinforcing feedback loops. When you put money in a savings account (high five!), there is also an interest rate. The more money you put into the account, the more interest is accumulated, which puts more money in your account. You get the idea.

These are three examples of how systems behave, but of course there’s a whole lot more that goes into applying systems thinking to finding solutions or changing a system. Next time I’ll be sharing two key questions guaranteed to fire up your Systems Thinking Brain!

Intrigued and want to learn more? One of the all-time best books on this subject is Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows.

Intrigued and want to apply some visual systems thinking to a challenge in your organization?

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?

University of Illinois: Graphically facilitating a strategic planning retreat for Technology Services. Here’s a snapshot of the agenda I designed and facilitated visually for the group. If you’re curious about tech and higher ed, definitely check out the work happening with ShapingEDU!

Temecula, California: Capturing the big ideas about the future of the vision industry from today’s emerging leaders, facilitated by Sanitas Advisors. The energy was palpable and the community built in just one day was very cool to witness!