by Lisa | Jan 23, 2019 | Education
Visual content is one of the most powerful ways to communicate with audiences. It is the type of material that your audience craves. Board members and conference attendees are tired of powerpoint slides crammed with words. Visual content is attention grabbing from the start. So why not utilize it more?
Here’s why our brain loves visuals:
- They help us store information longer. Images and visuals are an effective way for our mind to save information into our long-term memory.
- Visuals allow for information to be communicated quicker. 90% of the information transmitted to our brains is visual. Using visuals can provide a quick and easy way to engage and grasp the attention of your audience. The average attention span of a person lasts around 8 seconds, so the quicker you can share your information the better!
- They help with comprehension. Visual representation of information can help audiences understand content more clearly. The visual accompanied by the presenter explaining the info can increase understanding of the report.
- Visuals ease the learning process. For difficult topics, visual can help ease participants through the learning process. No need for overwhelming paragraphs of text or extensive summaries. Visuals provide a great starting place as you get deeper into the information.
- They provide fun for your audience. A major important part of the engagement process of your presentation is the element of fun. Encourage your participants to enjoy themselves with the creative and fun visuals you incorporate into your time with them.
Convinced yet? Think about presentations that you have sat through in the past. Do you remember how boredom started to set in? Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Use visuals to break the cycle of boring meetings. Need some more inspiration? Check out some of our previous work here and let us help you create some visuals for your next presentation today! You can get a free quote for our services through our website here.
by Lisa | Nov 3, 2017 | Community, Education
We recently finished up an awesome project with OCLC for their annual meeting at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel.. See In Colors provided graphic recording for hundreds of attendees. OCLC is a global library cooperative whose members are librarians, researchers, and pioneers. Check out the video for a recap of the visual summaries.
Lots and lots of drawing!
Attendees took a poll on 1 word that summarizes the future. When the results came on the screen, I drew this picture for the word INNOVATIVE.
Thanks for reading! If you find this valuable, please share this with someone you know.
Are you or maybe someone you know planning a conference? Keep the attendees engaged, they need to SEE the big picture. Just contact me for a free consultation. I’m happy to help (smile).
by Lisa | Aug 25, 2017 | Business, Education, Facilitation, Graphic Recording
What happens when you are running a meeting or a workshop and the group starts to stray away from the agenda?
Maybe someone mentions a topic and another person jumps in to add their thoughts. Before you know it, the entire group is now discussing something outside the scope of your meeting. I have seen this happen time and time again. And so have you right? When I am supporting a facilitator with graphic recording, I always offer to create a Parking Lot for the meeting.
The Parking Lot is a placeholder for capturing ideas that should be followed up at a later date outside of the meeting. It keeps your meeting on course and it shows the contributor that you acknowledge their idea/concern.
Here is a quick video that explains how to use the technique.
What’s your favorite method for keeping meetings on track? I’d love to hear it.
Facilitating a meeting involves juggling a number of moving parts. We hope this technique will help you during your next meeting or workshop. Learn how we can support you with visual notes and meeting design, click here
by Lisa | Jun 25, 2017 | Education, Visual Thinking
Last week I worked with over 200 leaders in education. It was the 21st SURN Leadership Conference held at the College of Willliam & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. The conference ran from 6/19-6/20 and included speakers and workshops that brought innovative thinking and insight to attendees. I provided graphic recording for 5 different sessions, check out some of the photos below.
It’s a full house! Educations Leaders ready to engage at #SURNLC2017
BIG Board for BIG Ideas! Title done, now I’m ready for capture.
Here is the after, Visual summary for the Opening Keynote all finished. Speaker: John Almarode
Concurrent Session: Speaker, John Almarode. Love his presentation style, very active with music and audience participation.
Mike Schmoker was so engaging with the audience. He showed an example about tying shoe laces with his own shoes. Can you find the shoes in my chart? Double click to expand.
Closing session by Steven Staples was great. He shared facts and inspiration for leaders.
I had the honor of being a presenter this year.
I thoroughly enjoyed teaching this workshop. The participants jumped right in and were so creative. They even shared their work on social media #SURNLC2017 to inspire others!
Teaching Sketchnotes for Beginners to a full class of 30 education leaders.
My final quote to the workshop participants.
This was such a positive and action oriented conference. I am excited to see the plans for next year!
Thanks for reading! If you find this valuable, please share this with someone you know.
If you want to use visual images for your next project, conference, or strategy session, just contact me for ideas. I’m happy to help (smile).
by Lisa | Mar 31, 2017 | Art, Education, Visual Thinking
April 4th is National School Librarian Day. Let’s give librarians a round of applause and celebrate them with visual thinking.
When you think of a librarian, what image comes to mind. Books pop into my mind.
Here is a quick lesson on how to draw a book in 5 easy steps. Give it a shot.
Icons like this can help build your visual vocabulary. Of course you can use this icon to draw tons of concepts. For example a book can represent learning, school, teacher, research, and so much more. And several books together can make a library!
Can you think of more ideas a book icon can represent? I’d love to hear it.
Thanks for reading! If you want to use visual thinking for your next project, conference, or strategy session, just contact me for ideas.
by Lisa | Mar 12, 2017 | Business, Education
I love these kinds of projects, because I get to learn something new about business! I provided graphic recording for the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland at their Social Enterprise Symposium.
My favorite quote of the day came from the keynote speaker, Shannon Schuyler of PwC. She said “Creating a better world is smart for business.” I agree, 100%.
Great speakers and special thanks to lead sponsors Price Waterhouse Coopers, EarthColor, and Goodwill Industries International, Inc.
Click the image below to expand for a larger view.
Getting started with quotes from the keynote speaker, Shannon Schuyler of PwC
Thanks for reading! Let me know know your feedback, I’d love to hear from you. If you find this valuable, please share this with someone you know.
If you want to use visual images for your next project, conference, or strategy session, contact me for ideas.
