by Lisa | Sep 25, 2019 | Business, Facilitation, Graphic Recording
Receiving feedback is an important part of the completion and strategy process of any project, no matter what field or industry your business is in! However, providing feedback to a team member or project partner can be a delicate balance of constructive criticism and presenting ideas to spark something positively.
A great way to get feedback is through the ‘I Like, I Wish, What If’ method. This meeting facilitation technique is used quite often during design thinking. These three prompts can provide your group with some ways to get feedback flowing!
You can set this up for an online meeting or an in-person meeting. Here’s how:
- Online Meeting: Use our free template, click here to download.
- You can ask participants to print out the form and write their thoughts out.
- Here’s another idea, you can share the form on your screen and ask participants to report out using Zoom breakout rooms and the annotate feature.
- Not sure how to easily navigate virtual meetings, we can support you. Contact us here.
- In Person Meeting:
- Creating a large poster board or post-its with these three phrases at the top.
- You can use the blank space underneath to collaborate and sketchnote everything that comes up.
I Like
The first section of this method pulls all of the existing things from the project that team members like about it. Think about the overall structure or organization, or you could point out some visuals or colors within the project that you enjoy. Be thoughtful about this section and try to pull at least one thing per person that is already working with the object that is being reviewed.
I Wish
The second section is for critical thinking about things that may be positive about the project but could be improved a little bit. Potentially the length of a project or the number of slides in a presentation. These refinement suggestions can change things for the better, but without completely altering the integrity of the original work.
What If
This section is for brand new ideas or evolving ideas. You can open the door to a solution of a challenge, but don’t limit yourself to the possibilities that can come from this specific part of the exercise. Free-flowing ideas are welcome!
Make sure to cover each section of this method, no skipping! It can be used for getting feedback from a workshop, strategy session, or retrospective. There are so many ways to implement this strategy. Check out other posts on our blog!
by Lisa | Sep 11, 2019 | Business, Money
Crazy as it may seem, the end of the year is quickly approaching. Before you know it you’re going to be pulling out winter clothes and then putting up your Christmas tree. However, if you’re managing a company budget and have some excess you’re probably looking for a way to spend it in a way that will benefit the company. Here are a few ideas:
Strategic Planning with a Graphic Facilitator
With the team developing new ideas for the upcoming quarter or even the upcoming new year, bring in a graphic facilitator! Through graphic recording, you can really get the ideas flowing and new strategies to the forefront. The See in Colors team loves helping your company develop plans of action to really help your ideas shine and get things done!
Animation Video showing your accomplishments for the year
There’s no better time to reflect than the very end of the year which conveniently falls in line with your end of the year budget. Depending on how much you want to spend, you can pull in an animator and highlight all the accomplishments and high points of the previous year. It’s a great way to end a year and hype your team up for what’s to come in the new one.
Professional Development for your team
There are always more skills and developments that can be learned. Technology and science are constantly evolving and keeping your business updated is a great way to ensure success in the long run. Professional development is costly, but if you have a lot of leftover in your budget this is a great way to invest that money back into your business through education and making your team more effective.
Staff Retreat
Staff retreats are a great way to pull your employees together and help them get to know each other outside of a typical work setting. Your office is increasingly more effective when your employees all get along and know each other on a deeper level. This is also just a great way to treat them and thank them for being such a great team!
Sign up for a conference
Conferences are a great way to educate your employees, but they get everyone out of the office and hold a lot of networking potential. If you can find a conference in a great location that’s not too far but also contains fun things to do in addition to lectures, your employees will be able to view it as a type of staff retreat rather than just an informational business trip.
Want to learn more about how our services can help you prepare for the end of the year? Check them out here!
by Lisa | Aug 14, 2019 | Business, Community, Education, Event Planning, Graphic Recording
Everyone loves the chance to get away. A chance to get out of the office and have a change of scenery! Your work environment could be the best out there – full of great co-workers and a fully stocked snack pantry, but I bet that any one of your coworkers would love an opportunity to get out from behind their desk and check out a new place.
When planning a staff retreat for your team there are so many options to consider, but all exciting things for sure! You may want to keep things more relaxed or keep things structured – either way being strategic about your agenda is key.
Use your staff retreat as a chance to show your team how much you appreciate all of their hard work. Recognize some key players, but acknowledge the team as a whole during your time together. Present certificates, awards, or gift cards to recognize behaviors and performance. Let them know how important they are to your company’s success. They will love the gesture, and it will increase team morale as well!
Another item to add to your agenda is a period of reflection of the past year. Create a safe space for each team member to be heard and allow your group to connect at a deeper level. Give each person time to share their thoughts.
To compile the discussion together – hire a graphic recorder to visualize and capture the input, ideas, and key points. Visual summaries tell a story and bring emotion to your meeting by incorporating colorful images to the activities. One of our clients recently held a staff retreat and shared with their team, “Your ideas are important to us, we want to hear you, that’s why we hired See In Colors to draw out what’s being said.” Let your team know you want to understand their point of view and allow each opinion to be valued.
Want to add graphic recording to your staff retreat? Learn more about our services here!
by Lisa | Jul 3, 2019 | Business, Education
Graphic recording (also known as sketchnotes) can be leveraged by all industries. From education institutions to nonprofits, all types of organizations can benefit from visual communication. In this post, we are going to share more about how a specific industry is utilizing graphic recording – healthcare. Check out some examples below from our clients!
ACC’s Industry Advisory Forum
In this particular example, the American College of Cardiology used our visual summaries for their Industry Advisory Forum and their magazine. From membership statistics to governance, graphic recording was used to draw out the discussion at the meeting. We love their focus on learning,education and being inclusive.
AMCP Partnership Forum
One of the powers of visual communication is the ability to re-purpose and reuse. I had the pleasure of creating a visual summary real-time during their meeting. By re-purposing the digital image in their newsletter, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy was able to share their information to a broader audience. They covered industry updates and took time to examine “ways to best utilize and integrate medical and pharmacy data to improve health outcomes and lower costs.”
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
The NHLBI gathered a group of organizations, whose mission is to conquer sickle cell disease. They shared stories of their experience with the disease and came together to collaborate on a new effort called “Cure Sickle Cell Initiative”. Through our graphic recording, the group discovered their intended audiences, high priority messages and covered who to partner with to spread the word even more. They wrapped up the session sharing their emotions and optimism about the day. NHLBI then re-purposed the images in a letter from the Director posted on their website. What a wonderful way to show the ideas and voices of the participants!
These are just a few examples of how healthcare professionals are using graphic recording. This innovative visual practice can be used in your organization. Contact us today to learn more, click here!
by Lisa | Jun 5, 2019 | Business, Facilitation
You’ve planned the event, prepped the speaker and got the seats filled with participants! So exciting. Now for the fun part. In this previous blog post we shared all about what prepping for an event with See in Colors services looks like, and in this post we are going to tell you all about our day-of duties.
We make sure to arrive early to set up, stocked with our markers and paper, supplies that we take care of. We know what tools of the trade work best to make your content pop off of the page. We set everything up in a spot that works best for your preference and the room layout. We end up in a spot where we are able to create, but also listen in to what is being shared. Our role is to listen closely and synthesize the information. We sketchnote the essence of the conversation, drawing out major quotes, tidbits, key takeaways and more.
Think of our team as your “visual thinking partners.” We keep in mind the audience that is at your event and how they will retain the information that is being shared. If you are anything like us, and the science backs this theory up, most of us are visual learners. While lectures and keynotes are amazingly helpful and insightful to industry teachings, trends, etc. – visuals are the way to go when sharing information. We make sure to tap into this learning style when we design and doodle our materials.
We draw a visual that represents your event well and shares major themes that you audience is looking for. Items like key phrases, major pull quotes, fresh ideas and more. We include other marketing items into our creations like your event hashtag or your company’s brand colors and logo. We wrap up everything on-site, filling in any last minute details or phrases that may have been missed once the event has completed. It all comes together in a one of a kind presentation, perfect for social media sharing as well as a fun item to display in the office. While we may take a few photos ourselves of the finished product, the physical chart is yours to keep.
Told you this was the fun part! We love working with companies and businesses to bring a fun and fresh new element to their event program. Want to learn more? Visit our services page here!
by Lisa | Apr 17, 2019 | Business, Graphic Recording
In this post, I am going to answer some questions that I get pretty frequently about graphic recording. From what is it to why I love doing it – I am breaking it down for you. Here are the answers to the most common questions that I get asked!
Question #1 “What’s the name of the thing you are doing?”
Most times I get asked by participants at events when I am working. I share with them that I am doing graphic recording. They have usually never heard of it before, so it is fun to share with them about the technique. Want to learn more about this? Check out this video that shares more!
Question #2 “How did you find out about this?”
I found out about graphic recording through a video on YouTube. Yes….Youtube! I was browsing videos about beauty, style and natural hair and I stumbled on a video where someone used doodles to explain the process. In the video, a woman took out a large piece of paper and started drawing. She shared that her sketches were actually called graphic recording. She talked about her business and how people hire her to listen and draw at their meetings or events! I thought to myself “you mean this is a thing, a job!” I got hooked and did some more research and later got trained in this method. From there, I gained the skills, helped clients, built a team and grew the business I have today.
Question #3 “What kind of markers are those?”
The markers that I use are very distinct and have a pretty unique look compared to your typical marker. The company that I use is called Neuland. They are based in Germany. Their products are really durable and the markers are refillable (an eco-friendly plus!). I love how vibrant the colors are. They are great quality and certainly my favorite.
Question #4 “Did they give you any information ahead of time before this session?”
Sometimes when I am hired to record an event, meeting or panel, I am provided with an outline or powerpoint of what will be covered. However, the majority of the time I don’t know what is going to be shared in a session. Event organizers don’t always have the speaker finalized or the speaker may even change up their presentation right before. Part of the job as a graphic recorder is being in the moment and listen to what is being said. While having pre-prepared materials is nice, we can not always depend on that going into an event.
Question #5 “What happens if you make a mistake?”
This is a great question! There are certainly ways to put a band-aid over your “boo-boo’s” if mishaps occur! I always keep a few white mailing labels in my kit to cover up any mistakes and keep going. I also use white-out depending on the size of the mistake. These two little tricks of the trade have helped me out over of the years!
Question #6 “Were you always an artist?”
No, not really. I have always loved art and appreciated it. However, I have never been formally trained. My father had beautiful handwriting and taught me how to write in script. He planted the seed and I never realized it until I learned about graphic recording. His script style has certainly been incorporated into my work. Lettering is a huge part of graphic recording and it is considered art as well. My background is in IT and management so I did not go to school for art specifically – but my education is a great tool for my work. I am able to mix my love of art with communication and business. Make no mistake, graphic recording and facilitation is hard work but it’s “heart work” and I love it!
Got questions? Check out our FAQ page or contact me here!
