How do you foster collaboration and feedback with graphic facilitation methods?

1 Benefits of graphic facilitation

Graphic facilitation can help you accomplish several objectives in your meetings, such as clarifying the purpose and agenda, stimulating creativity and divergent thinking, organizing and synthesizing information, highlighting patterns and connections, facilitating consensus and action planning, and enhancing communication. Visual aids can also be used to appeal to different learning styles, reduce miscommunication, and create a shared language and vision among participants.

3 Preparation and planning for graphic facilitation

Before you start your meeting, it is important to prepare and plan your graphic facilitation strategy. This includes defining the objectives and outcomes of the meeting, identifying the audience and their needs and expectations, choosing the appropriate tools and materials for the meeting context and format, designing the visual layout and flow of the meeting, practicing your drawing skills, familiarizing yourself with icons, symbols, and images to use, and setting up the space and equipment for the meeting. Additionally, you can involve your participants in the preparation process by asking them to share their input, feedback, or preferences beforehand.

4 Facilitation and participation during graphic facilitation

During the meeting, you need to balance your roles as a facilitator and a graphic recorder. This includes introducing yourself and the graphic facilitation method, explaining the purpose, agenda, and expectations of the meeting, and inviting the participants to contribute their ideas, opinions, or experiences. Additionally, you should actively listen to the participants and capture their key points visually. Asking clarifying or probing questions can help deepen the understanding and elicit more details. It is also important to summarize and reflect back what you have heard and drawn to the participants, as well as encourage them to interact with the visuals. Checking in regularly with the participants and adjusting the pace and direction of the meeting as needed is also key. You can also use different techniques to foster collaboration and feedback among the participants, such as breakout groups, gallery walks, dot voting, and harvesting.

5 Follow-up and evaluation after graphic facilitation

After the meeting, it is important to follow-up and evaluate your graphic facilitation process. This includes taking pictures or scanning the visuals, organizing and archiving them, analyzing and synthesizing the visuals to create a report or summary of the meeting outcomes, seeking feedback from participants and stakeholders on the method and results, reflecting on your own performance, celebrating your achievements and acknowledging your challenges. Additionally, you can use the visuals as a basis for further communication, collaboration or action with participants or other audiences. Graphic facilitation is a valuable skill that can make meetings more collaborative and feedback-oriented; using visual tools and techniques can create an engaging, productive, and enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Give it a try to see the difference!

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?