What’s Best for Your Event – A Graphic Summary or Chart for Every Session?

Often graphic recorders come prepared to capture every session in detail. However, sometimes we can be of greater service to the group by producing a single summary illustration of the high-level content of the entire day.

How do you decide which is the best approach for you? Here are a few ideas based on how I’ve partnered with clients to create the best outcomes for their specific needs.

Capturing in more detail is helpful when:

-          It’s important to capture many different perspectives and viewpoints to show all voices are heard and/or begin drafting a map of the landscape the group is working in.

-          Part of the event will be knowledge downloads, and part of the event will be tapping the wisdom of the room to address a challenge or problem. Having the information presented posted around as charts helps participants build on and remember what was shared as they develop solutions and next steps.

-          There are juicy keynotes or panels you want to capture and post as a gallery during and after the event to maintain momentum and inspire action with the group.

-          Groups will be taking ideas from plenary and developing them further in breakouts and need details to work with.

One chart for one hour of content from a panel — this was one of many graphics created over the day.

A summary graphic can be more useful if:

-          You’ve got concurrent sessions and only one graphic recorder. I often work with clients to design processes for staff or participants to capture key ideas and help me integrate them into the summary.

-          There is small group work without reporting back every time.

-          You want a slightly more polished piece to share during and after the event in reports, etc.

-          The content is sensitive but capturing the overall process and high-level ideas is valuable for participants. Sensing and holding the energy in the room is important for the process. I become part of the container for the group to move through their path, and the graphic summary can also hold that energy.

An example of a two day summary of back-to-back presentations for Houston Methodist Neuroregeneration Summit.

There are many ways to leverage a graphic recorder to best support your group. I love working with my clients leading up to the event to make sure the graphics are tailored to your needs and help move you toward your goals.

And sometimes, this is a “yes, and” situation – it’s important to capture content from each session, then after the event, I’ll work with clients to co-create a visual summary of the key messages to share moving forward.

Have an event coming up? Let’s connect and brainstorm the best ways to leverage visuals for lasting impact and engagement!

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?

Denver, CO: For the closing session of Regis University’s Orientation Forum. New students reflected on a day experiencing different parts of the Denver community, and shared what kind of community THEY wanted to create together over the next year…and beyond!

Washington, DC: With the Democracy Fund to begin creating a systems map of our country’s democracy. It was complex, challenging, thought-provoking, and the hearts and minds of the people in the room are extraordinary! And another example of a summary of content from the entire day.

Newest Watercolor Video is…Heat Illness: Fun for everyone, right? Here’s a video from the National Park Service on how to safely prepare for fun outdoors even in the heat of the summer.

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

Crossing the Divide – How to Find Common Ground Among Diverse Perspectives

Whether it’s national politics or internal to your organization, we all hear stories about polarized viewpoints, and the challenge of working across silos.

At the same time, we know that diversity is not only healthy, but also builds resilience when things don’t go as planned.

So how do you harness the inherent tension that bringing diverse perspectives, and potentially combative ones, together to build a strong, shared path forward?

Here are four suggestions for finding common ground from my experience as a graphic facilitator:

-          Create space for context setting and relationship building. Often overlooked or dismissed as “wasting time”, building in time at the beginning of the event, as well as throughout, to clearly outline the “why” of the meeting and for participants to get to know one another allows for more ease when conversations get difficult.

-          Put more time than you think into developing questions to surface shared values, such as “What is important about the work we do?” can provide a window into the group. Having a few open-ended questions like “What should we do about __________?” provide space for participants to surface concerns or solutions the planning team might have missed, but are integral to moving forward successfully.

-          Build in less structured time. This is another piece that often feels like a “waste” of time, but is vitally important to cultivating trust and creativity. This is especially true if much of the agenda will be presentations or panels – you’ve invested in bringing all these important people together to work toward a goal, now give them the freedom to use those brains and hearts to do the work!

-          Draw it out with the intent of surfacing shared ground. Graphic facilitation or recording is a tool to leverage to literally show the group where they’re in agreement. Partnering with a graphic facilitator who can work with you to listen and capture through a particular “lens” to help surface shared values or tensions helps the group keep track of complex, moving parts to build a shared picture of what’s important.

Have you been looking for common ground on an issue? Click that button to explore how we can leverage visual tools for lasting success.

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?

The Colorado Front Range: Working with a public health team and their partners as they evaluate an assessment to use the data to support the community, and hospital managers to think more deeply about building trust in their teams.

In the Studio: Painting up another explainer video for the US Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS). This video will be available in October, but for now, here’s another look at a video created for the RMRS last year.

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!

Digital, Paper, or Foam Board, Oh My! How to Decide Which Medium is Right for Your Event

Hey folks!

Have you ever organized an event for your organization? If you have, you know there’s a LOT more that goes into planning and pulling off a successful gathering than meets the eye.

If you’ve put weeks into organizing an event, you want it to go as perfectly as possible. So, naturally, you’ve hired a graphic recorder to visually capture notes in real-time. High five, you have got this on lock. Then, the graphic recorder throws this curveball at you:

“So, would you like me to work on paper or digitally?”

As digital scribing has become more reliable and attainable, deciding whether to use paper, foam board, or projecting a tablet screen can feel complicated.

With all the other variables you’re managing, I’m here to help this decision to be an easy and fun one!

I often get the same question from clients: What are the pros and cons of each option? So, I’ve decided to pull inspiration from some other graphic facilitators, and create a tool to help you swiftly make a decision based on your needs.

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?

Phoenix, Arizona: Back at Arizona State University for the second ShapingEDU Unconference where Dreamers, Doers and Drivers got together to share ideas and strategies to better leverage technology for learning in higher education.



Houston, Texas: With Houston Methodist Center for Neuroregeneration capturing presentations and discussions from a global group of neuroscientists and spinal researchers. We even witnessed Mutton Bustin’ at the Houston Rodeo! Needless to say, my mind is blown after working with them (heh heh).

Out of the Studio: This new digitally illustrated video for local Northern Colorado business Streamside Solutions explains how their HVAC system software can save you energy, time and money…fast!

Washington, DC: This week I’m back in DC working with the Environmental Defense Fund on the last in a series of systems thinking workshops on sustainable agriculture and pollinator habitat.

And Nearly…In the Grand Canyon! As a reminder, my next big adventure has been in the books for the past year – from March 24-April 15 I will be rafting the Grand Canyon! Fortunately, I’ll be completely disconnected from phone and email during that time rolling on a river. Unfortunately, I won’t be available to partner with any clients during that time, but will look forward to opportunities to collaborate when I return. If you do have an event during this window, I can connect you with some highly qualified colleagues who can take care of you and your group!

Updates from the Field

The past two weeks have been filled with graphic facilitation, studio work, and graphic recording across Colorado. I wanted to share a few of my favorite parts of this recent work with you all!

Graphic Facilitation for the newly formed Colorado Project Learning Tree Council. Check out that huge garage door window! Too bad it was below freezing over the two day retreat.

Graphic recording at a public outreach meeting in Custer County, Colorado, to help them capturing the complexity and make tangible their vision of the future!

Graphic recording for a client working on a collaborative around the Colorado River Basin in the western US.

How the Best Leaders Make Solid Decisions

In my last newsletter, I shared one characteristic that contributes to strong leadership. And while I think that listening is a key trait to great leaders, I’d like to dig a little deeper into a particular aspect of this idea: HOW and to WHOM they are listening.

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin hits the nail on the head:

“Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation.”

What strikes me about this quote is how someone in a position of power could cultivate an environment that supports healthy disagreement. That last bit about “without fear of retaliation” speaks of a person who assumes good intentions even if the words are oppositional, who takes time to consider options, and who values critical thinking over a “yes-man”.

Additionally, there is power in WHO is delivering the message. If we receive a critical message, if we know it’s coming from a place of wanting us to do better, it’s easier to hear.

If you want to read more about the power of perspectives in effective, collaborative teams, check out my post here.

If you’d like to co-design a process that creates space for different voices and perspectives to think critically, to learn more about how graphic facilitation can support your team.

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, Karina

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Cortez Colorado for Southwest Rural Philanthropy Days where over 300 nonprofit and funding participants brainstormed how to build a stronger community of giving in rural southwest Colorado.



New York City for the second of three workshops focused on modeling storm water and sea level rise in the City. Teams from five academic institutions are creating models of different storm scenarios so the City can develop informed emergency response strategies and priorities based on data.



Las Vegas for a showcase and brainstorm session on innovation in the field of optometry exploring ideas like how to better leverage technology to serve a broader population of people who need eye doctors.



Ohio State University to capture the latest thoughts and innovations in cyber security.

Here's What I've Noticed About Great Leaders Across Sectors

One thing I love about my job is getting a unique slice of trends and conversations across sectors. In the past two weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of graphic recording and facilitating with a county government, a national foundation, a private tech giant, and a non-profit conservation organization (yes, I slept for the entire long weekend afterwards).

Some of the conversations these groups had were difficult – that’s often the case when groups have the courage to move beyond the same old ideas they’ve always had. These conversations have potential to be transformative…or not.

What can make the difference?

I’ve noticed that when leaders approach the conversation in a defensive way, that shuts folks down. But if they come in with two ears wide open and a humble mind, the results can be remarkable!

Often people are frustrated or critical because they don’t feel heard, so when leaders and decision-makers put themselves in a space of listening, then thinking about solutions, tension and hostility shift to tenacity to find a path forward together.

If you want to read more about listening...I've written about how to improve here, storylistening here, and different levels of listening here.

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, Karina

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

From Adams County Children and Family Services in Denver, to the Buffet Early Childhood Foundation in Omaha, to Adobe in San Jose, to the Environmental Defense Fund in Fort Collins, August was buzzing! Here are a few highlights:

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And speaking of buzzing…we also harvested honey from our beehive this weekend. Labor Day, indeed, but the rewards are sweet!

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What Every Event Organizer Wants to Hear & How to Make it Happen

No matter what your job is, there’s a good chance you’ve had to organize some sort of meeting. And if you haven’t, you probably will. Whether it’s a regular small-team meeting or a massive annual conference, there’s often a lot more work put into organizing a well-run event.

So, first of all, for all you event organizers out there, I raise a glass to you and all the work behind-the-scenes or otherwise un-thanked you do!

Next, if you’re organizing a meeting/gathering/convening/conference/event/show, I want to give you something. Have you ever heard someone at an event you organized say something like…

“This was unforgettable!”

“This was the BEST conference I’ve ever attended!”

“I got SO MUCH out of that meeting!”

“I can’t WAIT to use what I learned with the rest of my team!”

...or even a simple “THANK YOU!”

These are just a few things you, as an organizer may be yearning to hear or overhear. Why? Those things mean your participants felt valued, saw something from a new perspective, that they were present and engaged, and that you’ve helped them do their jobs or live their lives better. And while there are heaps of ways you can create an event that is meaningful and participants love, I’ve got one sure-fire way to get people fired up (in a good way).

Bring in a graphic recorder.

Having someone visually scribing the content, listening for connections, or even for what’s not being said can catapult participants from looking at their phone screens under the table, to wondering how their ideas can be incorporated into the mural being created. Seeing visual summaries of conversations and discussions moves groups from “My idea” to “Our vision” and “Actions I can take”. It can give them tangible stepping stones to take what they learned and move forward, or help unravel a previously complex and mystifying topic.

So, the next time your team is starting to plan an important event, consider a graphic recorder, facilitator or scribe to support your participants, honor their time, and help them do the best thinking they can.

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, Karina

Want to hear “You’re the BEST organizer I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with!” from your clients? Let’s talk about blowing their minds!

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Turning Dull Trainings into Delightful Drawings: The US Forest Service has to deal with a lot of challenging situations; if you live in the Western US, you probably know about the prolific wildfires this year. But did you also know the USFS is responsible for hazardous waste spills and clean up? I’m working to help explain the complexity of Spill Response Coordinators and how they work with other agencies when things get leaky. Here's a chart from the initial brainstorming session I facilitated.

Digital Scribing for ShapingEDU: Last spring I attended the ASU UnConference for on the future of higher education, technology, and meaningful learning for students. I'm in awe of how the organizers have carried the incredible energy of the 100+ participants forward into monthly video calls with participants from around the world on topics from the in-person event. The engagement was astounding, and I got to do live digital scribing while screen-sharing!

Editing Cave: Working on the final video for the Wildfire Risk Management Science Team, who use advanced mapping tools to help managers and responders make safer and more effective decisions about when and where to mitigate a wildfire.