“…An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.”

I recently came upon this quote from the colorful writer Charles Bukowski: “An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.”

I like this quote because it embodies its own message. It encapsulates an immense amount of complexity in two deceptively simple sentences.

And, if we’re doing our job well as graphic recorders, we can walk this edge of clarifying complexity without over simplifying. Through intentional mark making, considering the right questions, and deep listening, we help distill your hard work navigating the unknown future into what simply makes sense.

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?

Wenatchee, Washington: Working with the US Forest Service sharing research and experience on the ground to better plan for risk mitigation for wildfires that cross management boundaries.

Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Nation, South Dakota: Listening to stories and helping tribal leaders develop a shared vision and priorities for more effective grant-writing to improve their community.

Columbus, Ohio: Back with this awesome team for the second annual Cybersecurity Days capturing best practices, campus innovations, and life hacks for more security online. Here’s my capture of Jerod Brennan’s excellent talk on protecting our digital identities.

West of Fort Collins: Elk hunting for a few days. Unfortunately, we didn’t get one this year, but it never ceases to fill me with gratitude and awe for these animals and wild places. I appreciate that my clients understand when I disconnect, and thank you all for your patience with slower-than-usual response times over the past two weeks between hunting and graphic recording work!

Many Groups, One Facilitator? Here’s How to Guarantee Great Breakout Notes

Hey folks! I’m writing you from Central Washington. I’m here to graphic record for a workshop convened by a team of wildfire researchers I’ve been creating a series of videos for – I’m hoping this deep dive with stakeholders in the community leads to some interesting dimensions in the final video of their series!

There will be several breakout sessions, so to support the groups visually, I worked with the facilitation team to develop a series of templates to fill in. Here’s where they really shine:

• They keep the visual aesthetic of the entire meeting similar – everything is custom and hand-drawn.

• When each group has the same key questions to answer, we ensure that the information shared back to the group is focused and at the right level of detail to move the group toward meeting goals.

You don’t have to be a master painter to create a useful template – check out these other examples from graphic facilitation clients I’ve created recently.

Want to guarantee the notes from your next breakout group are top notch?

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?

Wenatchee, Washington: Working with US Forest Service wildfire researchers, social scientists, and local fire stakeholders to share findings and ensure research is providing useful and actionable information for local practitioners.

Fort Collins, Colorado: Graphically facilitating a retreat for the City Natural Areas citizen advisory board focused on visioning for the future. Here’s a template individuals filled out then shared with partners.



Chicago, Illinois: For some professional development to improve my digital graphic recording skills to broaden the remote services I can provide and enrich in-person digital work. Here’s a photo of some street art I played with during an exercise in the course. I HIGHLY recommend Raquel’s workshops!

The Biggest Mistake I See Conference Planners Make and How You Can Avoid It

How many times have you signed up for a conference and been psyched for the opportunity to network with other people in your field, thought leaders, and share ideas on the future together…Only to find yourself slipping out early because your brain is full and you don’t want to sit through another panel presentation?

As a graphic recorder, I get to attend events across sectors, from federal agencies to corporate events and everything in between. And working with the event planning team ahead of time, I know how much work goes into pulling off an event of any size, and how deeply those event planners care about the success of the meeting.

And YET…I still see this mistake over and over again. Even if the planning conversations seek to avoid it.

What’s the biggest missed opportunity I see?

Not planning enough time for people to actually CONNECT with one another face-to-face and have the time to WORK on solving a problem together.

Let’s think about it. If you’re hosting an event, you’ve spent heaps of money on doing it right. You’ve brought important, smart people together into the same room…think of what the time of every individual in the room is worth taking a day away from other work to be there!

So, how can you make the most of their time? How can you work to move the field or think of a new solution or build deeper relationships with this group?

It’s tempting to stick with the status quo of panel after panel of people sharing top ideas. And there’s certainly a time and a place for that. I challenge you to think outside the box, and schedule in more time than you think you might want for interactive processes that will leave your participants feeling heard, energized, enthusiastic about their contributions, and creatively fueled by the end!

Ready to work with a graphic facilitator to create a process your participants won’t forget?

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

With an eyecare corporation building relationships and co-creating a strategic path forward. So, what is strategy you ask? These pups can tell you!

Loveland, Colorado

Sharing tips and trick for visual communication with teachers at Bill Reed Middle School!