Orchestrating Digital Facilitation with Visuals

Is your head spinning from the complexities of virtual meetings- How to best run them, organise and share information, keep groups engaged and connected? Do you need to connect team members and move groups forward virtually on a specific client issue while managing significant amounts of data and harvesting insights from diverse team members? @Jerre Lubberts and his team at World of Minds walked us through a variety of Digital Facilitation tools in an excellent session on "Orchestrating Digital Facilitation with Visuals" on day 4 of @Power of Visuals Weekathon. They mapped out the process and demonstrated in 90 minutes a complete overview of how to move through the stages of research and data gathering, to harvesting for insights, to brainstorming and problem-solving models in a client scenario.

Below I've included screenshots from the session and have added some of my notes alongside as a guide. The screenshots, images, and the process all belong to @Jerre Lubberts and team. I drew the visual summary at the top live during their session.

1.Introduction and agenda After introducing the team, they began with a quick overview of the session on a large mind map.

2.Start with Interactive Polls to gather info. They began with a series of interactive polls using Mentimeter. This was used to gather insights and reflections, establish some base criteria around the group's capacities, and identify learning expectations.

3.Map out data points visually. The team then transferred these inputs onto the branches of a pre-drawn digital mind map with MindManager . The mind map grew as it was populated with input from the participants related to the client scenarios and presentation points.

4.Map a potential client situation. Next, we moved into a group collaborative discussion to explore a potential client situation such as a team department merger, or process solution. Using the familiar "5 W's and 1 H", we identified what questions to ask, that we will seek to clarify through our group process. We brainstormed client needs, value points, potential roadblocks, core competencies required, possible elements of the solution.

5.Combine digital and paper. We then "combined digital and paper" in the digital collaborative platform Miro. We mapped and draw out our client situation on a pre-drawn visual template setup for each of the groups ahead of time. The drawing tools are basic (think stick figure) but the process is collaborative and fun. We created a self-explanatory digital artifact that served as an abstract representation and overview of the client scenario. This can be used to present to other teams later and can suggest possible team plans.

One member of our team had a real-life scenario she asked us to consider; it is no less the fate of the Amazon forest, and in particular, a specific tribe who are facing existence due to rainforest exploitation. Together, we brainstormed the scenario. In the process, we identified several communication channels and even a possible metaphor for a campaign (in the attached visual this is reflected as "We need your oxygen").

I like this approach as you can type client info, comments, questions verbatim which is a contest to the visual synthesis we often do in our visual facilitation word. These 2 tools combined offer the best of both worlds.

6.Document client scenario info on Google Docs. While the rest of us were mapping and brainstorming on the digital template, one member of our brainstorming team was populating a Google doc with specific questions about our client situation. These were then harvested and consolidated by the delivery team on a larger mind map to be presented back later. These mind maps create a simple visual structure that can then be shared back as a comprehensive (and visual) report for the client. 

7.Choose Graphic Formats to move the conversation forward We then explored the "Think/Decide/ Do/Learn" Model which is featured in the chapter Jerre and I co-wrote together on "Choosing Graphic Formats" in The World of Visual Facilitation.

We browsed a variety of graphic formats such as flow chart, mandala, journey map, process maps which can be used for specific problem-solving and solutions based on the client discovery process. In the book, I share my version of doing this with the client using a series of visual story cards to represent graphic formats and possible solutions.

Overall, this was an excellent demonstration to showcase a variety of tools to make our virtual facilitation experiences more engaging, meaningful, and successful. Which tools are you familiar with? Which would you like to try in your next group facilitation or meeting? Like to learn more? Watch the video replay of the session, and copy the visual recording below as a quick reference.

Earlier in the week, I presented a session on "Metaphors That Matter", an exploration using visual facilitation templates combined with coaching frameworks to identify current and emerging narratives for personal and community transformation.

If you like to learn to bring the power of visual facilitation and visual tools for solutions into your virtual and in-person team environments, we would be happy to explore with you.

Here's more info on our book The World of Visual Facilitation , our chapter on Graphic Formats: Start with the Right Format, and a short video intro

If you're interested, here is the Ted talk by the charismatic native elder tashka_yawanawa from the South American tribe, which was the starting point for our group's scenario for the session.

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