Knowing what to capture as a graphic recorder: part two – the Actions

The Actions, or “Knowing What to Capture”

Each visual practitioner is different.  Here’s how I go about knowing what to capture when working as a graphic recorder, as best as I can describe it:

Before the event

First, I clarify the purpose of the event.  Why are folks really coming together in the first place?

Next, I understand the goals of the event.  How will things be different at the end?  Is there a core message or specific call-to-action that the session is built upon?

During the event

First, I ready myself so I’m able to be fully present and receive the content and experience of the event session.  My recording-space set-up process is really a set of rituals to “empty” myself so that I may be fully present to (and for) the people in the room.

From the time the event begins to the time it ends, I listen deeply to what’s going on to the room… what’s being said and what’s not being said.

What’s being said

This really boils down to discerning what is key content and what is anecdotal content.  Key content is what folks in the room will want to remember.  Anecdotal content is all the other stuff being said, which adds to the experience but is not actually part of the “meat” of the message being relayed.

A good example of this is when I was mentoring some high school students on their first graphic recording project.  We were about to record a school district meeting, and I gave the students a last minute reminder about listening for key content as the superintendent took the stage.  Five minutes into the superintendent’s PowerPoint presentation, one student leaned over to me and whispered,

“He’s not really saying anything… is he?”

Give that student an A+!  (I was so proud… )

What’s not being said

Not everything that’s important in communication is actually formally “said.”  When something evokes a powerful response in the participants – either positively or not so positively, because both are important – , that’s something I’m going to want to capture… even if it’s a quick and simple visual icon that triggers a memory and helps participants relive that moment.

That brings us to the end of the content strategy part.  However, we haven’t even touched on the magic – or Zen – that is the Art of Listening on Purpose… and that’s the subject of part three of this post!

Part Three: the Magic, or “Zen and the Art of Listening on Purpose”