How do you use visuals effectively in remote environments?
As we've navigated 2020 and the remote work and meeting environments we find ourselves in, here at Graphic Footprints we have focused the way we use visuals in our work. Even more so than face-to-face collaborations, we recognize that our live capture of sessions drive participants' attention to specific conversation areas during a meeting.
When you're in a physical room together, participants' attention can be all over the place and they may check out the wall where the visuals are being created as they feel led. However, when you're in a remote environment during a session, you can more profoundly drive the conversation because it's an all-around different experience.
At Graphic Footprints we have been more intentional about the content we are capturing along with when we are capturing. While listening and timing are skills we've honed over the years in our graphic recording practice, these are even more important skills that have come to the forefront in 2020.
Answer the right questions: As we're listening to a particular conversation, our focus is always to answer the question: "What's the goal?" Working with our clients, some of the important questions we are asking to dive into that goal setting are:
What's the ultimate objective of this conversation?
What’s the desired group outcome?
What things aren’t important?
What is important to surface in the conversation... but not necessarily in a graphic recording? Even when you're deep in the weeds on a topic, it may not be the right output to capture to move a client conversation to the ultimate goal.
Be strategic: Seeking a close partnership with the meeting facilitators and being laser-focused on outcomes allows us to answer these questions and know how to tailor our visual capture for a client.
This intentional focus allows us to shift the conversation and bring the "live visual experience" of graphic recording back into the room. Some easy ways to unlock a great experience for an online session utilizing a visual capture are:
Time the screenshare of visuals strategically
Capture the online experience in a digital format
Bring the "live visual experience" back into the [remote] room
Remote work doesn't -- and can't -- replace the face-to-face meetings we might be accustomed to, so you have to create a different, relevant, and valuable experience to a remote event. Reach out if you'd like to brainstorm how we can support your next meeting!