Visuals for a Better World
I was a student in a multi-day online courses recently, and I noticed that I hadn’t said anything out loud in front of the full group by the end of Day 1. So it was much harder for me to speak up by Day 2. Wait, suddenly I was that student who hadn’t spoken up … Read more 15 ways to increase participation online – free resource
Graphic Recording and Group Work Go Together Are you planning a highly participatory meeting with lots of small group work, and wondering how a graphic recorder could work in this setup? Need an easy-to-read, and visually appealing, way of theming and synthesizing many small group discussions? Unsure if this meeting should be online or in … Read more Graphic Recording and Group Work Go Together: Free Facilitation Agenda
Next Generation Meetings: 8 Wise Practices and Creative Tools Here’s my webinar for Tech Soup Canada: Improve online gatherings and foster connection. Click below for a cheat sheet to download for your phone, with the 8 Wise Practices and Creative Tools I use most. This far into a pandemic, we’ve all changed our perspectives on … Read more A new, free facilitation resource for creative meetings in 2022
The Question Well tool Hello! We’re Jennifer Shepherd and Sam Bradd. We’re visual practitioners, educators and facilitators. This tool below is an excerpt from a chapter you’ll find in our anthology Drawn Together Through Visual Practice, published in 2016. You can download this free reflection tool called Question Well at the link below. PDF Download: … Read more Question Well: A free Reflection Tool for Visual Practitioners
Graphic recording helps us see complex information in new ways. It creates more understanding, helps us hear each other and can connect us to purpose – while inviting in more creativity. After hundreds of online meetings during the pandemic, here’s 10 things I’ve learned about adapting graphic facilitation to an online world. Graphic facilitation can … Read more 10 Things I’ve Learned About Graphic Facilitation in a Virtual World
Are you also a facilitator who gets squeamish about self promotion? or is that just me? Marketing can be a way to share your facilitation perspective and true voice. The International Association of Facilitators asked me to give a talk to the Europe and Middle East branch of the IAF. I’ve pulled together my favourite tips … Read more Successful Marketing Facilitation Services: For the Reluctant Marketer
Why strengthen your consensus skills? Better communication! Especially when you want more of a win-win. Here are some of my favourite consensus resources: – when consensus works – when it doesn’t – how to use a gradient of agreement to gather information instead of yes/no/abstain voting – options for disagreement. Plus, here’s my favourite meeting … Read more Supporting Group Decision Making – Consensus Skills
What’s the best thing to do with graphic recording images after a meeting? Use them! But how? Meetings are a major investment in time and effort. You may have invited graphic recording to help you: inform* people about something, consult and get feedback, involve key groups in discussion or refining ideas, collaborate in decision-making, or … Read more Get the most value from Graphic Recordings – after your meeting
Earlier this year, someone (brilliantly) said to me that when we meet online, we have the opportunity to create good meeting habits, and leave our bad meeting habits behind. Let’s come together for purpose and creativity – Meetings shouldn’t be a collapse across the finish line. So I asked my favourite facilitators and graphic recorders … Read more Meetings in 2021 should have more ….
Recently, I had the pleasure of being on the Creative Pulse podcast. It was a joy to talk with Angela de Burger about being a creative professional and my process. Find the link here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1209869/6743668 We touched on: personal creative style what I do for a process when approaching a new project why graphic recording … Read more Creative Pulse Podcast and Graphic Recording
I’m helping to facilitate no less than 5 awesome sessions before the end of the year – ranging from trans inclusion in sexual health to helping an executive team in education hold meaningful conversations in a challenging time. I’m really looking forward to planning this 100+ person event coming up: we have a unique Zoom … Read more Visual Instructions for a Big Zoom Breakout – Conference
Creative people must be actively anti-racist. Here is a short list of some qualities of white supremacy organizations that we need to dismantle. This is a partial list from a foundational article from 2001: The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture, a Workbook for Social Change Groups by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, ChangeWork. https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremacy-culture-characteristics.html And … Read more Visual practice and challenging white supremacy culture
“Could this meeting have been an email?” Sometimes ….yes. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way. When you need to meet, make it count. Maximize your time together – and bring a sense of usefulness, a higher level purpose, or connection in how you gather. Here are some quick tips to diagnose if this … Read more Things that pretend to be good meetings – and how visuals make it better
What advice might you give to your younger, facilitator Self? My facilitation community of practice explored this question recently. I invited us to be time travellers, back to a version of our younger selves. Think back to a time when you were an emerging facilitator – could be any place, any age – when you felt … Read more Advice for Your Younger Facilitator Self
I recently completed a 6-month #facilitation certification with Diane Musho Hamilton. The Integral Facilitator® Certification is a “professional training program that combines masterful facilitation with leading insights from the fields of developmental psychology and Zen awareness together in an Integral approach”. These are a handful of the facilitation skills I’m working on that stand out … Read more Always learning – new facilitation certificate