Graphic recording for executives – the shoulder checking technique

I noticed two useful things while graphic recording for some recent executive meetings.

Shoulder checking during presentations

It was a high-level meeting between senior executives that included dense information in a very tight timeline. The graphic recording tool was like shoulder checking while driving. A quick look was all that was needed. While he talked, the speaker looked over to the wall, and used the large, drawn headings to keep track of his presentation. It wasn’t the right venue for Powerpoint or written notes, and it helped prompt the executive to shift to his next point seamlessly. Not one idea was duplicated.

Concurrent posters

This was a strategic planning session with a senior executive team of 12 people. I put up two huge pieces of paper. The first one was a working document with our brainstorm, and the other was the reflection on the process and the learnings that were emerging. It was the perfect scale for the room – and I could cross out or overwrite freely on our brainstorming page (oh, wordsmithing in groups!). By working really big, the room could focus – in part because everyone could see where we were at. Two posters, two different processes.

Each meeting is a little different. We’re co-creating graphics, and whatever the goal – graphic recording can help  maximize meetings.

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Example of graphic recording, created live at a leadership summit.