Visuals for a Better World
Earlier this year, members of the Communities That Care group brought the esteemed Dr. Martin Brokenleg for a workshop about the Circle of Courage. At his workshop, participants brainstormed lists of important activities happening in the Cariboo Chilcotin. But lists are only as powerful as how they are used, so the committee thought an image would be an … Read more Drawing for Healing- Truth and Reconciliation in Williams Lake
It’s the middle of an important meeting. Heads are bowed. But unfortunately, it’s in Blackberry prayer. An effective and gentle way to help a group refocus is the role of Synthesizers. Synthesizers are people who support the facilitator and summarize the main points and emerging themes for the group. They speak for 1 – 2 minutes … Read more Adding the role of Synthesizers helps groups focus
There’s a graphic facilitation/ graphic recording technique that lets me be in two places at once. It’s called template work. I wasn’t able to join the Surrey Welcoming Communities event in person, and we all wanted visuals to complement the facilitation at this cross- cultural, multi agency gathering. I proposed a custom, graphic recording template. … Read more Adding visuals with graphic recording templates
The Fraser Basin Council in Williams Lake hosted a forum on diversity, multiculturalism and anti-racism. I brought graphic recording to support their discussion and dialogue. This diversity forum covered a lot of ground. Participants talked about vocabulary and ‘words that hurt’. Iris from PeerNet BC facilitated great discussions about systems of power and privilege that … Read more Embracing Diversity – graphic recording and dialogue
At some point in writing a PhD, it’s safe to say you’re going to get writer’s block. Wouldn’t anyone? So when an old, trusted friend was stuck in his writing process, I asked him to experiment with me: could graphic facilitation could get his ideas from his head onto paper. I put up giant paper. He … Read more Using graphic facilitation for writer’s block
This January I joined Brandy Agerbeck, graphic facilitator extraordinaire, and 5 learners in her graphic facilitation “Lab”. The Lab is a 3 day retreat/ training/ challenging and supportive environment where graphic facilitators can try new things and grow our visual practices. My big takeaway? Emphasizing synthesis as well as capturing information. Let me explain a bit … Read more Graphic Facilitation Training in Brandy Agerbeck’s Lab
Graphic recording is a visualization process – I draw ‘live’ in front of groups. But I also find it’s a powerful tool for transforming written reports into visuals. It’s a completely different challenge. For example, a team has worked on a project for months. It’s the collective effort of many stakeholders. The report results are … Read more Use visuals to bring reports to life
This month I’m working with five organizations as a graphic recorder. More than ever, I’m convinced about how graphic recording excels at giving a fast, effective visual summary between events. Here are two examples of graphic recording as a powerful summary tool. In September I worked with a group of organizations in dialogue about about healthy … Read more Graphic recording and the power of visual summary
I’m often asked if it’s possible to integrate small group work and graphic recording during the session. It is possible – and in fact it’s very successful. I can work with facilitators ahead of time to integrate small group work, and sometimes it happens on the fly. One of my favorite parts of being graphic … Read more Graphic recording and small group work
This is graphic recording at a Provincial Health Services Authority-Aboriginal Health conference. The conference was called Transforming the Dialogue and builds on their online indigenous cultural competency training. I visited concurrent sessions, took visual notes and drew 6-foot images that summarized the workshops. Two themes emerged while I drew: Transforming the dialogue means working towards a critical hope, … Read more Live Graphic Recording – Transforming the Dialogue conference
This week, over 80 youth and 60 community/public health workers gathered at an important conference: giving input into an online wellness tool for indigenous youth. Karlene Harvey from the interim First Nations Health Council and I were on hand for graphic recording. Graphic recording is drawing in front of the room, in real-time. As people talk, they ‘see’ … Read more Graphic Recording: indigenous youth wellness