Have you ever been in a long meeting or workshop and found it hard to stay focussed and follow the conversation, or found it hard to remember what was talked about after the event?
Graphic recording is a technique that can help with this. It is the process of capturing conversations through visuals in real-time, and it is a powerful tool that enhances engagement with the content and that aids accessibility – especially when paired with creative facilitation method led by skilled facilitators.
We have been using graphic recording in our workshops over the last two years, including in measuring change workshops with Pimlico Million Big Local, Hateley Cross Big Local, Blackpool Revoe and Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP), and in a training event with Trussell.
We are lucky to have Eddy Phillips as part of our team of brilliant associates who has worked alongside us and as part of our team of facilitators to contribute their brilliant creative drawing skills to capture projects, peoples lived experience and community visions across these projects. Eddy works in partnership with Wendy and the team at WSA Community blending creativity and facilitation to support participation. Eddy has written this blog to explain more about graphic recording and how it can really work well alongside skilled facilitation.
What is graphic recording?
Graphic recording involves creating visual representations of ideas and discussions, making complex concepts easier to understand, remember, and engage with. It can offer lots of benefits, including:
- Accessibility: Whilst not accessible to everyone, using graphic recording is one way to make information that may be hard to follow for some participants more accessible. For people who find lots of verbal or written information overwhelming, including some neurodivergent people, graphic recording is a useful tool for including more people and helping them to follow a meeting or conversation.
- Clarifying information: Complex ideas are distilled into simple words and pictures, and broken down into chunks, making them more tangible and easier to process. This helps break down difficult conversations into actionable insights.
- Inspiring creativity and reflection: Graphic recording can help people to think differently, sparking creative thinking and giving participants an opportunity to reflect on key takeaways through visual representations. This can enhance a workshop’s impact.
- Improving engagement and retention: Visual aids increase memory retention, allowing participants to better recall important points after the session ends. We also scan the graphic recording after a session and it is shared with the participants, creating a lasting record of the conversation that can be returned to.
The role of skilled facilitators
When graphic recording is paired with skilled facilitators, the process becomes even more effective:
- Communication: As a graphic recorder, working with a trusted facilitator means that the graphic recorder can have conversations about the event beforehand to help them prepare, and good communication throughout the day means that there is room for flexing the agenda in a way that still allows the visuals to align with the flow of conversation.
- Creating a safer space for participants: Whilst no space can be universally safe, working with a skilled facilitator means that participants are supported to feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts, and this helps people feel their ideas are being valued – which works together with these ideas being recorded visually and transparently. A well facilitated space also means participants are more likely to feel confident in speaking up about things they would like adding or changing on the graphic recording.
- Maximising the value of visuals: Working with a facilitator who is familiar with graphic recording means they are able to use the graphic recording as a tool for helping reflection, for example inviting the graphic recorder to talk through what they have captured with the group, and to ask for further contributions and conversations, which can then be hosted by the facilitator. This turns the graphic recording into an opportunity deeper discussion and continued learning.
We’ve found that integrating graphic recording and creative facilitation in our work, with skilled facilitators guiding the process, has supported meaningful conversations, creativity, and lasting change.
If you would like to discuss with us facilitation of an event using Graphic Recording please do contact info@wsacommunity.co.uk
If you would like to see more about Eddy’s work please see eddydraws.co.uk