A Freelancer’s Favorites: Illustrated Tips for Working From Home

First of all, I want to say the last two weeks have been surreal, and we all deserve a deep breath.

I’ve been delighted by the intentional way people are being good to each other and despite massive shifts and challenges, I am holding the energy that we will come through COVID better than we were before.

As I’ve been hearing stories of the challenges of shifting to working from home, I wanted to share a few of the tips I’ve learned from other entrepreneurs, as well as through trial and error over the past 6 years of owning my business and working out of a home office.

Without further ado — I give you: llustrated Tips for Working From Home!

Click through on each to see the different tips!

If you need a daily dose of uplifting stories, I love @Upworthy on Instagram. And of course for mellow snippets of the garden, chickens, and bees, come on over to my feed too!

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?

At Home! I hope you are too :) Even though live events have been cancelled for the next few weeks, I’m always impressed with how my clients adapt and innovate on the fly, and I’ve been live digital graphic recording for a few projects on Zoom.

Phoenix, AZ At the third annual ShapingEDU Unconference. This group in particular is on the cutting edge of technology and learning, and there’s no other group I’d rather adjust on the fly with. We went from a hybrid in-person and remote meeting on the first day to fully remote on the second — more on that in the next newsletter!

If you’re finding yourself on more video calls than ever before and need a way to keep participants focused and anchoring participants to a common story (theirs!), let’s explore how to leverage digital graphic recording or remote facilitation for you!

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.

Nail these 2020 Event Trends by Partnering with a Graphic Facilitator

Many of you amazing people know what it takes to put on an event, and I tip my hat to every single one of you!

When I read this list of trends for events in 2020 from top event planners, I couldn’t help but come back to how graphic facilitation fits and enhances almost every one!

For example, an Experience Wall where the graphic recorder is gathering stories and responses to key questions over the course of the event provides “Experiential, focused not only on traditional objectives such as education and networking, but also on making attendees part of the event and providing them with unique activities to participate in and share on social media.”

As a graphic facilitator partnering with my client to co-design processes for meetings, another trend matches: “Events will make greater use of non-traditional meeting formats, flexible seating arrangements and the innovative use of space, in order to provide more opportunities to connect and interact (not just “network”).”

One of my favorite things about making meetings visual is the deeper connections across seemingly different­­ people. This human hunger to find connection ripples through another trend that can be achieved through graphic recording -- “Greater diversity, building bridges between cultures and sparking new ideas.”

And of course, when leveraged to their full potential, graphics can provide “Value and content before, during, and after events”.

Are you making the most of your next event? Let’s brainstorm how to set yours above and beyond!

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?

Washington, DC: With the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) annual conference. Over 600 professionals working on using science to promote sound policy decision-making gathered and I got to work digitally AND create a massive Experience Wall based on participants’ ideas, synthesizing while everyone was in breakout sessions.

A digital graphic recording of a panel on diversity and climate change from NCSE 2020

Looks Like Your Vision is 2020!

Happy New Year!

It’s officially 2020, the start of a new decade (!), which means it’s a phenomenally powerful time to reflect, appreciate, and take a moment to think intentionally about what you want to create in your life.

One of my goals for 2020 (which has been on my mind for a while) is creating videos for my newsletters. Today, I’m delighted to share my 2020 Vision Board with you via video — to see it and hear my tips on manifesting for a new year, click below to watch the video!

As mentioned in the video, here are a couple of other fantastic resources for intentional visioning for a new year:

My personal favorite way to focus my energy is to create a Vision Board for the upcoming year. Because 2020 is the start of a new decade, I made this one more expansive and focused on long-term ideas. They are fun to look at and can sometimes last a long time – here’s my board from 2016 which has been an anchor for the past 5 years! Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect, just go for it!

The 2020’s vision board I briefly shared in the video.

A few key questions can help focus thoughts and align synapses for new patterns. So, I’ve taken last year’s Vision for a New Year template and given it a little update love for us for this year:

Please download and fill this out on paper or in your favorite drawing app!

Marie Forleo has created a 3-part Decade in Review series to help you look back to leap ahead. It’s excellent, and has brought new perspective to my annual reflection.

Brandy Agerbeck’s Draw in Your New Year. All of Brandy’s online courses and videos are thoughtful, authentic, and brimming with value. I am especially keen on the exercise she shares to draw the year as a cycle to think creatively and strategically ahead!

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. Here’s to a New Year filled with joy, abundance, and creativity!

Cheers,

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

At home taking some time off to recharge and reflect before heading to DC in a few days. I’ve been planning ways to continue to improve the services I offer to my amazing clients, and I’m excited to get cracking!

A note on 2020 fee structure changes: This year my rates will reflect travel time when working out of state and internationally. As before, all rates are communicated and approved by clients through the contracting process.

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!

The Art of Reimagining the Report Out

Workshops with breakouts mean unending report outs, right? Maybe not!

Here are three tips I learned this summer at IFVP from Anthony Weeks on ways to ensure stellar report-backs that can be visually captured for useful synthesis and follow-up:

-          ONE Big Idea: Each group can ONLY share one big idea (it’s okay to share the same thing as another group)

-          Once Upon A Time: Ask each group to create a story arc of their idea to engage the audience

-          The Pitch: Each group gets a short time – one minute or less -- to persuade the rest of the group their ideas are best. Bonus: Offer prizes!

Over the report back? Here are a few other ways to approach visual capture of group work:

-          Visual templates for every group to work through and share, or post for a gallery walk.

-          Experience Walls: Pre-built walls with visuals and key questions that participants can interact with on breaks or built into the agenda.

-          Ask the graphic recorder to focus on creating one illustration summarizing the full day.

If you’re not reporting back but want everyone to hear the main story of what’s evolving, it’s important to still build in time or a strategy for the entire group to hear what others are speaking about. You can invite your graphic recorder to walk the entire group through a quick summary of what they captured.

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?

Middlebury, Vermont: With the Institute for Ecological Civilization partnering with citizens in Vermont to support them as they co-created a vision across urban and rural communities in the state.

Chautauqua at Boulder, Colorado: As a participant/recorder with a group of leaders in the systems thinking sharing tools, building relationships, and deepening a network of practitioners working for social good from carbon neutrality to housing to equity and justice.

In the Studio: Filming the latest Drawing Connections video for the National Park Service, and a video for a team of cross-boundary wildfire and social scientists at the Rocky Mountain Research Station!

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

Tales from New Jersey: Where the Field of Graphic Recording is Headed and How I’m Showing Up PART 1

Where do you find yourself thinking “I’m so at home right now, I feel surrounded by my people!”?

Last week I had the pleasure of getting to connect with MY people at the International Forum of Visual Practitioners (IFVP) conference. This year was special for me because I was selected to present a workshop session (more on that later) and got to shake up a few mental models about myself and the field.

Over the next few weeks, I want to share some key takeaways of where I see the field of visual practitioners going and how that is shaping my practice!

So this week, the first thought to actions shift I want to share is…

We are MORE than fun artists to liven up an event (although that’s part of what we do)!

As graphic recorders, we can provide value from the very first conversation by offering digital visual notes of a scoping or planning call to help our clients see their thoughts more clearly. This simultaneously shows how visual capture provides value in a tangible and relevant sample.

Better yet, attending a pitch or scoping meeting and providing live graphic recording to show even the most skeptical and budget-conscious decision-makers how powerful visualizing the conversation can be! This also serves to show how the facilitator you’re partnering with is different and more effective than the average bear.

The deeper mental model shift here for me is that as a graphic recorder, I have VALUABLE EXPERTISE and a UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE that can help my clients, and it’s MY RESPONSIBILITY to step up and share what’s possible when working together.

If this is a client’s first time working with a graphic recorder, they may not know all the dimensions and ways we can tailor our work to best support their group…unless we help them see what’s possible!

I also choose to show up as a Thought Partner for the facilitators and clients I work with by asking key questions like “What does success look like?” and “Why are you interested in having a graphic recorder at your event?” so I can listen and capture content that will best serve the needs of the group. And I provide a custom list of suggestions tailored to each client to help them continue to leverage the charts after the meeting to provide longer-term value beyond the event itself.

Looking for a visual thought partner for your next event? Let’s connect.

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?

Montclair State University: Attending this year’s International Forum of Visual Practitioners conference!

Here’s a shot of me capturing a session for the inspiring change-maker Sita Magnuson (photo courtesy of the one and only Emily Jane Steinberg).

A stunning digital capture by Raquel Benmergui done during the session I gave on email marketing for our industry, where explaining what we do and why it’s valuable can be a challenge!

Crush Your Next Big Project…It Will Only Take 15 Minutes

Sometimes a project feels so big you don’t know where to begin. Or maybe it’s not so huge, but it feels easier to check your phone than starting what needs to get done.

Here’s a trick to shake off that paralysis of getting started:

Set yourself a timer for 15 minutes.

Really? 15 minutes? Yes, really.

I’m doing it right now – I’m using my own advice to get this newsletter out to you fantastic people!

I’ve found that 15 minutes is just a small enough chunk of time I can convince myself to just say no to one more cute cat video, put my head down, and start chipping away at what I need to do.

And, 15 minutes is just long enough to get into the groove and want to keep jamming out on what I’m working on. Maybe set that timer for another round and see if I can finish something faster than I expected!

Bonus tip: Set the timer, then hide your phone. Temptation? What temptation?

What takes less than 15 minutes? Getting in touch to bring your upcoming event to the next level with visuals and creative process design to facilitate lasting action.

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?

Dallas: Supporting a C-Level leadership retreat through reflective and challenging conversations around how to work together to be a better team.

Washington, DC: For Part 2 of the Future Earth Sustainability 2.0 workshops mapping the future of sustainability research.

Denver: Supporting a collaborative of emergency management partners as they tackled design thinking, priorities, and mapping their time line moving forward.

Northern Colorado: Capturing a leadership training on how to walk the talk to build and instill trust in teams at hospitals.

In the Studio: Working digitally and remotely for Visuality as their European-based team captured the Global Water Partnership Annual Meeting which “followed the sun” around the globe! Here’s a snipped from the discussion in China about the importance of working collectively.

The Other AI

You know when you’re having a conversation with someone you admire, and pretty much every other sentence they say blows your mind?

Last fall I had the joy of getting to sit down with one of those people in my life, Heather Martinez, and something she casually dropped has been bouncing around inside me for months as I figure out how to chew on it and what it means for my graphic facilitation practice.

We were talking about process design for facilitating meaningful conversations, and I was gushing about Design Thinking and how complementary visual thinking is to that process.

Then Heather says something to the effect of “Yeah, but you can’t prototype humanity or emotions. That’s why I love Appreciative Inquiry!”

That brought me up short. I’ve dabbled with Appreciative Inquiry (or AI– not artificial intelligence AI), but with that statement, I immediately felt like it was a tool I needed to learn more about.

And this past week, the amazing and talented Christine Whitney-Sanchez facilitated over 700 IT professionals from across Arizona State University using Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space to build community, understand what’s most important to these people, and where to prioritize resources for the next year.

I think Appreciative Inquiry is a rad tool because it focuses on positivity, storytelling, human connection, discovery, and designing a path toward action. Unlike a lot of process design, it doesn’t assume to know the answers.

Here are the 5 D’s of Appreciative Inquiry, and you can learn more at this link.

Interested in applying Appreciative Inquiry to a question 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?

Provincetown, Massachusetts: Graphic recording for the second annual Broto Conference on Art and Climate Change where artists of all mediums and walks discussed how art could be used to scale climate action globally for good.

Photo: Michael & Suz Karchmer

Las Vegas, Nevada: With a group of engineers discussing the future of tech, trends, and big questions they’re thinking about. I can’t share much, but here’s one small illustration from my digital graphic recordings:

Tempe, Arizona: Back with the amazing Arizona State University Technology Office (UTO) who convened IT professionals from across the University to have conversations about what matters most to them and how the UTO can support a more cohesive IT network across the entire campus. This image was created from responses from an app in real-time during 21 simultaneous sessions!

Denver, Colorado: Supporting the work of Future Earth and H3Uni as they guided an esteemed group of individuals discussing the future of sustainability scholarship and how to address systems-level challenges to doing effective transdisciplinary sustainability research.

Yeah, it was a busy eight days!