Your graphic facilitation agency

When complex concepts are discussed, it's difficult for everyone in the room to have an identical perception of them. Some will think they've grasped the idea but will be far from it, others will think they've understood nothing but will have a more accurate vision... Used alone, words retain a degree of artistic vagueness that can be dramatic, depending on the circumstances. Graphic facilitation has a major role to play in getting everyone on the same page and stimulating group productivity.

Because while it's often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, it couldn't be truer. Imagine a meeting, with half your audience nodding off, and the other half not really feeling involved. To remedy this, graphic facilitation involves the whole assembly in representing a notion, concept, idea or reality in black and white. Say goodbye to empty words: everything is written down, displayed, and a trace remains in the future as a conclusion or work support.

Graphic facilitation not only avoids any doubt as to individual interpretation, but also promotes a creative group dynamic..

While graphic facilitation aims to visualize meetings, conferences and workshops to make them more impactful and facilitate the understanding and retention of information, there are several ways of achieving this.

From scribing to sketchnotes and abstracts, we take a look at the five techniques you can use when you want to use graphic facilitation.

Scribing:

This little-known method is nevertheless extremely useful when it comes to facilitating the transmission of information. It consists of transcribing a discussion in real time, not textually, but graphically. Read our article on the definition of scribing..

Summary:

As the name suggests, the summary is essentially a summary. The idea is to create a second version of a document, but in a simplified form and with the addition of telling illustrations.

The sketchnote:

Once you've selected the shape that best suits your subject (curve, staircase progression, broken lines...), you'll need to add an impactful title. Then let your imagination do the rest, expressing your ideas through keywords, drawings or symbols, for example.

Presentation illustration:

If you have to make an oral presentation to your superiors or colleagues, then this method is probably best suited to your needs, as it corresponds to a graphic synthesis of documents.

Visual coaching:

This method is not very widespread. It involves rephrasing what a person has said, like a psychologist. The aim of this reformulation is to help the individual better understand his or her personal issues.

1. Listen

It's essential to listen very carefully to the speaker. You need to be attentive to understand what he's talking about and the concepts involved. At this stage, try to pick out key details, quotations and so on …

2. Reflection

The second step is to draw out the essential ideas. You can also start by drawing up a plan that seems simple and comprehensible to you. This step is really personal: it's important that you take the time to think about the meaning of what has been said, and the information that YOU feel is important to remember.

3. Writing and drawing

Once you've clarified the information you want to put down on paper, it's time to get out the pens. This is where your creative mind comes into play: work out which ideas are worth writing down, and which are easily summarized in a little drawing. What methods will you use to highlight certain words or concepts? How will you organize your page? It's all up to you. Once you've sorted out the information, the layout should seem obvious. It will then be easier to memorize and reuse this sheet.

The word sketchnote comes from the English language. It breaks down into "sketch" and "note". From this etymology, it's easy to deduce its meaning: to transcribe your note-taking in visual, graphic form. It's a form of graphic facilitation.

Sketchnoting is a category of visual thinking. Visual thinking groups together all the methods used to represent ideas, information, concepts, etc. graphically. It contrasts with linguistic and auditory thinking.

Visual thinking relies primarily on the brain's processing of visual information. You've probably heard of mnemonic techniques for remembering complicated lists: these are often examples of visual thinking. Many studies have shown that 70% of the population are visual thinkers. In other words, their preferred process for retaining information is visualization. Similarly, it has been proven that taking notes, even if they look more like scribbles, helps to retain the information you hear. 

There are many graphic and visual elements at your disposal when sketchnoting.

Here's a non-exhaustive list of the elements you can use:

- Text
- Text with emphasis
- Basic shapes
-Containers
- Connectors
- Icons and symbols
- Sketches and illustrations
- Shading
- Color