In my business I’m on the road a lot, traveling to various awesome client meetings and events. Each time I walk into a conference room, or meeting space, and I see hungry faces yearning to find a better way to communicate, I remember just why I make each trip. You see, for me, visual conversations are a way of life. . . but for other people it can seem foreign and a bit out of reach. When we work together, though, they discover just how simple it can be. And that’s the point where we can start to draw forth the best in our ideas and in ourselves!
So just in case you feel like having visual conversations is still out of reach for you. . . here are some easy tools to help you get the hang of it! In my book Draw Forth, I talk about my Top 12 Go-To Conversation Shapers. . . here are three of my favs from that list.
Three conversation shapers for you to try:
#1: Concentric Circles Prioritization
What it does: Provides a framework for prioritizing tasks over an undefined period of time. Separates priorities into stages (immediate, short term, longer term).
How to use it: Create three concentric circles, one inside the other. “Now” is the innermost circle. These are the things you need to focus on in the immediate term. Once these are nailed, you can look to the next concentric circle to see what the next stage or phase of a project’s needs are. The third and largest circle contains our stage-three items so we don’t lose track of them. I like to do a brain dump of all the tasks I need to do or steps we need to take in a project, placing each task or action on its own sticky note. Then I place the notes in the circles so they can migrate towards the innermost circle and then move out when they are complete. It helps me to stay focused on my current priority, and not lose track of what is coming down the pipe.
Here’s a picture of the one on my desk right now, just as an example:
By the way, if you’re more of a “list-maker” you can write down each item in the appropriate section and cross each one off as it’s completed (aah, deliciousness!), or even create a sticker that says ‘Conquered’ to go over each item as it’s done. (For my money, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as pulling of a sticky note that’s complete, crumpling it up, and tossing it in the recycle bin!)
#2: Ecosystem and Influencers
What it does: Identifies interactions and key players in the situation (think “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon“.)
How to use it: Think about the person in the center of your visual as your Kevin Bacon, the person you serve (or want to serve). Feel free to make this person as detailed as possible. Think about what makes them your ideal client and give them some of those characteristics; it will help get your creative juices flowing. Now draw circles moving out away from your person. Start thinking about how you and others fit into that person’s ecosystem. How do you interact, how close are you really to this person, what is your degree of separation? Spend some time really thinking about the other people and things that influence this person, their personality, and their decisions.
I typically use this one in client conversations, and I’m not going to show you their confidential/proprietary stuff, so instead here’s an example I typically share during my “Understanding Your Target User” workshop:
We’ve got our target user (the “T.U.”), we’ve got us (the smiling person), and we’ve got all these other cool cats that dwell within our target user’s ecosystem. Each cat holds a different role or relationship. and if we move the target user out of the center and one of the cool cats INTO the center, everything changes. . . including the positions of our relationships.
This is an amazing tool to use to help you really understand, and see visually, who is affecting your ideal client, how much, and in which ways. It can be a real eye opener!
#3: Back to the Future
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” –Steve Jobs
What it does: Provides us with an opportunity to imagine what’s it’s like to be in a place of future success, then look back and see all the dots that got us there and how they aligned. Reveals the path to our future success, while demonstrating that we have been on this success path all along.
How to use it: Start with clarifying your vision of future success. (“Yes, this is what success means to us, this is what success looks like.”) Capture this in the “sun” of your template. Once you have that vision of success, imagine standing in this future place and look back at how everything you have ever done has led to this future success, and could ONLY have led to this future success. Now go to the past…start plotting out what you did in the past that has helped you towards this goal. Once you reach the present don’t stop! Plot out what you are doing now that is healing you reach that sunny, wonderful future. You are on a roll, keep going into the future and think about what you need to do going forward to help you reach that future success state. Your future timeline outlines the most important milestones to achieve this future state.
Sound powerful? That’s because it is. . . it can be one of the most powerful things you do to help visualize what success means to you and how you intend to get there. I use it with my clients all the time, and the insights this process generates are liberating and profound.
Here’s a quickie example I whipped up for you, so you can get a better feel for the flow of the process. . . thinking about my own business right now:
Here’s a tip: when your “Back to the Future” drawing is done, post your visual map where everyone can see it. . . and get ready to start FLYING towards that future!
Giving shape to your brilliance
Now, these are just three shapers or templates that you can use to help you help structure your own visual conversations, but they are also so much more than that. Did you notice that these visual conversations are taking on some big topics and important concepts? When we sit down with colleagues or loved ones and start to talk about the future and our priorities it can sometimes get a bit tough to really have a deep and meaningful conversation. For some, these types of conversations can get scary and overwhelming in a hurry.
Using a simple visual framework to guide and contain the conversation makes it easier to dig into the topic, AND as a result the work becomes less intimidating. We can pick a simple point and start on in. Bringing our simple visuals into the mix helps us get so much more out of our conversations, and you will notice, that they often end happier too!
How will YOU shape your next visual conversation?
I cannot wait to see what you draw forth!
Thanks, Jeanelle, a fine few minutes visiting with you