Breaking Down the Role of the Meeting Facilitator

Breaking Down the Role of the Meeting Facilitator

by | Jun 21, 2022 | Business, Facilitation, Leadership, Uncategorized

Meetings don’t run themselves. An experienced facilitator can help keep your meeting on track, ensure that all voices are heard, promote discussion and conversation, and streamline transitions between topics and speakers. 

At See in Colors, we’re experts at facilitating meetings – and we’re committed to delivering an elevated experience for every participant. Here’s what makes a powerful meeting facilitator.

Has Processes for Getting it Done.

Meetings are complex and organic, with many moving parts. A great meeting facilitator has proven processes and procedures in place to meet identified outcomes, keep the meeting focused, and adhere to the schedule. Working these things out on the fly is never recommended – a good facilitator will know when and how to step in to maximize productivity, communication, and impact.

Knows Facilitation Ebbs and Flows.

Meetings are like symphonies: they ebb and flow in terms of speed, energy, and presentation techniques. An experienced meeting facilitator will be able to match the energy of the presentation and dial things up or down in order to keep the meeting moving along comfortably and naturally. They won’t force a pace or a tone – their goal is to work from the sidelines to guide things along and ensure smooth transitions.

Gives Everyone a Voice.

It’s all too common for one or two voices to dominate the floor in a meeting. A good facilitator will be mindful of giving everyone equal opportunity to participate, and will create space for people to do so (especially if the boss is in the room.) They might invite questions, lead a discussion, or monitor the group chat for key talking points. Their presence also provides more opportunity for managers to chime in: having a facilitator overseeing the meeting takes that task off the plate of your senior staff.  

Leads from the Rear.

A facilitator is a guide, not a keynote speaker. They don’t take center stage, but rather lead from the back of the room. An experienced facilitator will lead with a light touch, giving presenters and participants the spotlight. At See in Colors part of the meeting facilitation our clients often leverage is our graphic recording services. This type of visual meeting notes and minutes allow us to capture questions, action items and aha! moments throughout the event. It’s active listening made visual and holds the attention of the room long term. 

Is a Neutral Voice.

Meeting facilitators are a neutral party there to help a meeting succeed – not to put their own stamp on it. Their job is to build trust, create a communal space, and make sure the meeting addresses the points and goals outlined in its schedule. They might diffuse a situation or help a meeting move past a roadblock, but they’re an impartial spectator, not someone there to push an agenda.

At See in Colors we’re expert meeting facilitators. We can help take meeting management off the plate of your team leaders, freeing them up to listen and participate – and ensure an inclusive, productive, streamlined environment that makes meetings something your team will look forward to attending. Talk to us today about our meeting facilitation services. 

Case study: Using Video To Introduce Adaptive Sports to PE Teachers and Sixth Grade Students

Case study: Using Video To Introduce Adaptive Sports to PE Teachers and Sixth Grade Students

by | May 17, 2022 | Animation Video

Physical activity is vital to living a rich, fulfilled life. The Michigan Adaptive Sports and Inclusive Recreation Initiative (ASIRI) aims to support the wellness and quality of life of people with disabilities – and creative inclusive opportunities for people with and without disabilities to come together. One channel for doing this is by embedding adaptive sports and inclusive recreation into the physical education curriculum of Michigan public schools. See in Colors worked with ASIRI to create a motion graphics video to bring awareness about adaptive sports to students, PE teachers and coaches. 

The Goal: Raising Awareness About Adaptive Sports

Sport is for everyone. As the force behind the Michigan Adaptive Sports and Inclusive Recreation Initiative, the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports & Fitness department strives to improve awareness about adaptive sports and inclusive recreation in Michigan public schools. 

The University of Michigan previously worked with See in Colors on an animated video overview of the University’s services for students with disabilities. Aware of our skills in this area, they approached us about developing a video to introduce adaptive sports to physical education teachers and sixth-grade students in a fun, informative way – and to showcase how adaptive sports support the inclusion of all people.  

The Solution: A Vibrant Motion Graphics Video

After a discovery session with the client and research into the Michigan physical education curriculum, we decided that a motion graphics video would best meet the goals for the project. 

The client had a basic script written, so we performed a script audit to confirm the script would fall within the allotted time frame, that it would resonate with the target audience, and that any visual ideas and key themes and topics could be powerfully conveyed through the chosen medium. For example, the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports & Fitness department offers ways to participate in adaptive sports including Wheelchair Tennis, Wheelchair Basketball, Track and Field, and Para-Equestrian, so we wanted to touch on these points. 

After the script review, our animation team created a key visual with initial character design to help the client visualize the overall style and characters of the storyboard. Once this was approved, we moved forward with the animation – including art, voiceover, and closed captioning. The final product, which adheres to all web accessibility recommendations, was pushed live to YouTube and the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports & Fitness social media channels to ensure wide-ranging access. 

Our services included:

  • Script Audit
  • Character Design 
  • Key Visual 
  • Storyboard 
  • Voiceover
  • Closed Captioning 
  • Animation

The Outcome: Increased Engagement and Awareness

Premiering in February 2022, The Adaptive Sports and Inclusive Recreation Initiative Video has reached hundreds of classrooms and thousands of students. The video is also freely available online and through the University of Michigan website to ensure that its reach is as broad as possible, and can be shared by educators and the public alike under a Creative Commons license.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with reports of increased awareness of and interest in adaptive sports and the opportunities it provides, as well as interest in engaging with adaptive sports programs.  

 

Final Animation:

Meeting Facilitation Mistakes to Avoid

Meeting Facilitation Mistakes to Avoid

by | May 11, 2022 | Facilitation, Uncategorized

Meetings don’t have to mean a bad time. Meetings can be a great way to share information, get people on the same page, unify your team, and move a project or idea forward. However, for those things to happen, the meeting needs to be meaningful, purposeful and led by a facilitator whose job it is to ensure smooth running. Here are three mistakes that all meeting facilitators should avoid if you want to deflect those “this could have been an email” complaints.

1. No agenda, no attenda

Sending out an agenda before your meeting improves attendance and also helps you manage expectations. You don’t want to start a session and have the first question be “so why are we here?” Try to give attendees at least 48 hours notice so that they can plan around their schedules and prepare any materials or questions. Your agenda should cover the goals, topics, and discussion points you plan to address in your meeting. It can be formal or informal, depending on your meeting, and can be as in-depth or high level as you need. Allow time for other speakers or key participants to add their own thoughts or feedback before sharing the agenda.

2. Not having an icebreaker ready

The only thing more awkward than a Zoom meeting sign-off is a Zoom meeting start. People are arriving at different times, fumbling with their technology, and trying to figure out whether the event is already in full swing. Have a simple icebreaker ready to go in your chat sidebar to engage people and keep them focused on the meeting instead of on the other attendees fiddling with their cameras or microphones. Icebreakers might include sharing their city or location, naming the song they last played, a “this or that” vote, or a show and tell with pets or their office view. Tailor the icebreaker to your company culture and the type of meeting that’s in progress – not all icebreakers are ideal for all situations. 

3. Not sticking to a schedule

One of the worst things a meeting facilitator can do is fail to track time or hold speakers to a schedule. Honoring and respecting your attendees’ time is vital to a good meeting outcome. Arrive early so that you can let people join the waiting room or participate in the icebreaker you’ve prepared. By showing up early you can actually begin at the scheduled time, not five or ten minutes after. Track time throughout, keep people on point, and help transition from speaker to speaker or topic to topic. Update speakers with the event progress, and for virtual meetings monitor the chat for questions and comments that can be answered offline or in the chat rather than on-screen by the speakers. Try your best to make your scheduled finish time a “hard stop,” and start wrapping up a few minutes before so that you can end when promised.  If it looks like you are going to end early, then give back the gift of time by saying “We’re ending early, so I’m giving everyone 5 minutes back”.

4. Skipping the housekeeping info.

Setting expectations is key to a positive meeting outcome. Build a few minutes into your meeting schedule to let people know who’s who, whether microphones will be on or off, what will be covered, when and how questions will be taken, whether you’re recording the session, and when the recording or supporting documentation will be available. This helps eliminate any chaos and confusion, and lets people know what to expect regarding their participation and feedback. You can share your housekeeping information verbally, or using pre-prepared slides that walk people through basic functions.

At See in Colors, we offer real-time graphic recording services that help support meeting facilitation in an engaging way, while also giving attendees a visual document they can refer to during and after the meeting. Avoid making the most common meeting facilitation mistakes. To ensure your next meeting goes smoothly, talk to us about our meeting facilitation and consulting services, where we consult, co-create, design, and facilitate your meeting so that you can save time and get unstuck. 

How To Pick The Right Animation Video Style

How To Pick The Right Animation Video Style

by | Apr 25, 2022 | Animation Video, Visual Thinking

Hands down, video ranks pretty high when it comes to communication. Adding animation video kicks things up a notch when you need a powerful way to get a point across quickly and succinctly. Animation videos support comprehension and retention – and are increasingly a preferred way for people to consume information. In the corporate world, animation videos in particular are a winning choice for sharing data, educating an audience, or building a brand. Clear, effective, easy to align with your brand style, they have a long shelf life, and are primed for internal or external sharing. But not all animation videos are alike. Each has a different look and purpose, so it pays to be strategic when deciding on your animation video type.  

Here are the 3 main animation video styles our clients choose.

2D Animation Videos

2D (two-dimensional) videos feature “flat” animated content. These sorts of videos usually feature characters and voiceover, and are generally used for storytelling purposes. The style and format can vary widely depending on your brand and niche, from loose hand-sketched formats designed to communicate transparency through to the sophisticated, friendly design used by tech start-ups. 2D animation use cases include:

  • Corporate storytelling
  • Brand or product ads
  • Onboarding videos
  • Educational videos

Motion Graphic Animation Videos

Motion graphic animation videos bring ideas, processes, and text to life. This style of video adds motion to things that are usually static, such as charts, graphs, flowcharts or logos – you can think of them like an infographic, but animated. Motion graphics are a great way to communicate complex ideas in a step-by-step, visually pleasing manner. Additionally, motion graphics are effective in situations where the focus is on getting across an idea or process, not a story, and they easily incorporate existing brand assets and styles. Use cases include:

  • Explainer videos
  • Product or service information
  • Presentations 
  • Corporate awareness

Here’s a little factoid. Animated or “kinetic” typography videos are a subset of motion graphic videos, and feature only moving text combined with a voiceover. 

Whiteboard Animation Videos

Whiteboard animation videos are a stylized video type designed to look hand-drawn, typically with a white background. These animations are sometimes also known as whiteboard explainer or sketch animation videos. Whiteboard animation videos have a clean and simple look with an “education” vibe to them. They’re popular in the following scenarios:

  • Brand education videos
  • Selling a product or service
  • Communicating complex ideas or data

 

Whiteboard animation videos are effective and efficient – and can deliver great results.

Not Sure Which Animation Video Type to Choose? Talk to Us.

If your organization is developing an animation video but needs guidance on which style of video to choose, and how to leverage it for best results, talk to the team at See in Colors. We can walk you through the selection process, help you develop a winning script, and even assist with production and voice talent. For more information, contact us.

Show You’re Using Grant Funding Effectively With These Visual Aids

Show You’re Using Grant Funding Effectively With These Visual Aids

by | Apr 8, 2022 | Uncategorized

Grants are vital for helping businesses grow. Whether you’re using it to seed a new idea or cover operating costs as you expand, a grant can be a lifeline for businesses small and large. But grants aren’t free money. They’re provided for specific purposes and usually have requirements, deliverables and limitations attached. Whether you’re starting the grant application process or have been awarded a grant, it’s vital to be able to clearly and effectively demonstrate how you intend to use, or how you’re using, grant funding. Our animated videos and graphic recording services can help. 

How visual aids can support your grant application

Applying for a grant is often a multi-step process. In addition to researching and writing the actual application, you might also take one or more meetings with the funding source. These meetings might occur prior to the application process, or as part of the application process itself. 

A pre-application meeting can provide valuable insight into what the funding source expects to see from you, and what specific action items or key deliverables are needed to draw their interest. Take note of these items and include visual elements and assets that demonstrate who the grant funds were used for and how the mission was fulfilled. Please reach out to See in Colors to learn more about how we can work with you to develop visual assets such as animation videos and graphic recording that tangibly, and professionally communicate your strategy to your funding source. 

How visual aids can demonstrate funding allocation for an awarded grant

If you already have a grant in hand, congratulations! Your objective now is not only to be a responsible steward of those funds, but to prove to your funding source that the funds will be well spent in driving your mission and projects forward. Make your case in a compelling manner using the following visual formats:

1. Animated video

Animated video is ideal for communicating ideas, stories, and information in a visually compelling way. See In Colors can help you develop an on-brand, high-impact video that clearly and granularly communicates how you’re using grant money achieving your deliverables. For example, we created this video with the University of Michigan as part of the Adaptive Sports & Inclusive Recreation Initiative. Although one piece of a larger initiative, this video is a great example of how a team can show progress in a tangible way, while also being powerfully intentional about your message and image.

2. Graphic recording (on site).

Graphic recording creates a large-scale, real-time visual record of what’s being verbally presented. It allows you to highlight and connect key concepts and ideas so that your audience doesn’t miss critical points during your presentation. Take this photo from the Education Development Center as an example. 

The large document in the background was the result of a graphic recording session run as part of a kick-off meeting for a multi-stakeholder initiative built around a framework called “collective impact.” The session brought people together around a physical artifact that succinctly and powerfully highlighted the shared vision and messaging being discussed and developed. Graphic recording is a simple, concrete way to anchor relationships, with people leaving the meeting thinking: “we made this.”

 

3. Graphic recording (virtual).

Virtual graphic recording happens on screen in a virtual environment such as Zoom. It’s a powerful way to visually show the funding source in real-time what you’re working on, while also capturing genuine reactions from participants, something that can be vital for fostering communication and relationship building. An example is this virtual graphic recording session we put together for the University of North Carolina, who used grant funding to host a two-day maternal health equity symposium. This session helped funders, stakeholders and other organizations see first-hand how that funding was being used. 

 

Whether you’re in the grant application process or have been awarded a grant, incorporating visual scaffolds into your documentation helps position your organization as being resourceful, responsible and effective. Elevate your working with powerful visual aids that can easily communicate to your funding source why you’re the ideal choice for funding – and how you’ll deliver. Talk to See in Colors about how our animated videos and graphic recording services can take your grant proposal or presentation to the next level. 

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