by Lisa | Aug 2, 2024 | Graphic Recording, Resources, Visual Thinking
In the fast-paced world of meetings and brainstorming sessions, keeping everyone on the same page can be a challenge. Traditional note-taking methods often fall short in capturing the creativity of live discussions. Enter visual notetaking – a powerful tool that transforms ideas into engaging visual narratives.
At See In Colors, we believe in the power of visuals to enhance understanding and retention. That’s why we’re excited to offer a free resource to help you bring your ideas to life with our Visual Notetaking Tip Sheet. You’ve seen our team at work graphic recording, well you can use the power of visuals too!
What’s Inside the Tip Sheet?
Our Visual Notetaking Tip Sheet is designed to make it easy for anyone to start drawing out their ideas, regardless of artistic skill level. It covers five essential elements:
1. Text: Learn how to use fonts and styles to make key points stand out.
2. Containers: Discover how to frame information with boxes, clouds, and banners.
3. People: Simple techniques for drawing people to add a personal touch.
4. Bullets: Create clear, organized lists with various bullet styles.
5. Connectors: Use arrows and lines to link concepts and show relationships
Download Your Free Tip Sheet
Ready to take your meeting notes to the next level? Download our Visual Notetaking Tip Sheet for free and start transforming your ideas into visual stories. Click the link below to get started:
Download the Visual Notetaking Tip Sheet
At See In Colors, we’re dedicated to helping you design and facilitate meetings that are not only productive but also visually engaging. Whether you’re brainstorming, planning, or strategizing, our resources are here to support your journey.
Happy drawing!
From the See In Colors Team
by Lisa | Nov 20, 2019 | Business, Facilitation, Graphic Recording, Leadership
There are a multitude of personality assessments out there that can review all types of things. From the more professional traits a person may possess to something a little bit more lighthearted – each assessment can be eye-opening and helpful for an individual’s personal growth or a team’s improvement. Some companies even have a personality test included in their interview process, but we recommend adding an assessment to your next team building event or staff retreat.
The See in Colors team is trained to provide two types of personality assessments that are highly beneficial to company teams no matter the size or industry. The first personality type test our team can provide yours is the Myers Briggs assessment. There are 16 types in total, each one with unique skills, traits, and abilities. You can learn more about the various types here. The second type of personality test our team can administer is the DiSC profile assessment. While Myers Briggs is a little bit more on the individual side of personality tests, DiSC is more organization/group driven. You can learn more about DiSC through their website here.
Both tests provide great insight into your team strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to get a better picture of your team dynamic. Each test is a great option for your next team building activity or staff retreat. Take some time to review each test. See which one would be best for your company. Each one provides great insight and helps reveal some great things about your team you may have not noticed before.
Before your staff retreat, participants will complete a computerized test. After everyone has completed their test, we gather the results and prepare them to share at your meeting. We have trained team members that know all of the ins and outs of each personality type to walk you through it all.
We use graphic facilitation to guide you through the results using powerful visuals that keep everyone engaged. During your retreat, we sketch the qualities and skills of each personality. We understand it can be a little difficult to keep up with all of the types, so through visual storytelling, you and your team can easily digest them.
Wondering about next steps? We can share best practices on how to utilize each team member’s traits for the good of your company and the overall team goals! Want to learn more? Visit our contact page to get started!
by Lisa | Nov 6, 2019 | Education, Facilitation, Graphic Recording
Creating engaging ways to connect with your coworkers, team members, investors, etc. is crucial to being able to get your message across and get them to understand the point you are making. In this post, we are going to break down the importance of visual thinking and elements within your presentations for your business and everyday activity into the workplace!
Make your presentation stand out
Forget the days of black text on a white background. Been there, done that. Adding images into the mix allows people to engage with the material shared. Looking at a screen with just text is dull and certainly doesn’t spark creativity.
Encourages participation
If you are creating a presentation that includes feedback and discussion, make it time well spent with visual elements to get people talking. Using visuals takes your presentation to a more relaxed and comfortable set up as well. Don’t let your material be stiff and stale.
Focus on the important stuff
Getting a presentation together can be intimidating and overwhelming, especially if you aren’t a fan of public speaking. Use visual thinking and graphic recording elements to take some of the pressure off of composing the right words for the slides, but let the images do the talking for you.
Let visual thinking ignite action
Visual thinking gets the gears turning for your team and leads to motivation for putting those thoughts into action. If you have a more significant project or company goal, let visual thinking get your team ready to take it on and get things done efficiently with high spirits.
Think about it! What could visual thinking do not just for you, but also your team? While we covered these techniques for a presentation and group setting, all of these ideas could also work on an individual level. Want to learn more about visual thinking and graphic recording? Visit our website!
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 | 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 31, 2019 | Art, Graphic Recording, Productivity
You need the right tools for the right job! Sounds like something a handyman might say but it’s true! Curious about my go-to supplies for graphic recording and graphic facilitation? Keep reading. These are a MUST for each event, meeting or conference we attend. They are full of our favorites along with some other tools of the trade. In today’s post, I am sharing all about what is in my kit! Check out the photos below as well to get a better picture.
My Toolbox
My ArtBin Sidekick supply box holds everything I need with a little bit of room to grow as well! This product is perfect for when I have to travel and compact enough to take with me anywhere. It fits so well in my carry on next to my clothing and personal items. It stays locked shut, so I don’t have to worry about any ink spills happening in my suitcase. It’s super durable and effortless to clean. This product has three different sections for storage, and I have each spot filled with items.
Section One – Personal Items
This part of my ArtBin storage box has miscellaneous personal items that are great to have on hand during any job. I have hand sanitizer, lotion, business cards, and See in Colors pencils to hand out to clients and connections that I make at events. I always make sure to keep a plastic bag handy in case there is not a trash can close by, or I need to clean up some items in my workspace during an event.
Section Two – Work Supplies
In the final two parts hold the majority of the items I use during my graphic recording process! In this particular section, I have chalk, a pencil sharpener, erasers and some markers included. I always make sure to have child-proof scissors in there because they are TSA-friendly for when I travel! Whiteout is also an item I double check for when packing because it is so useful whenever I have a small error to fix or something to cover up on a drawing.
Section Three – Work Supplies (part 2)
This division holds my Neuland marker collection along with some refill ink. Artist tape and duck tape can always be found in this spot too! Duck tape is a universal go-to tool to keep in your kit. I like to keep some on hand at all times.
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