Graphic facilitation

This sketch of a large group meeting shows one person doing graphic recording and another person serving as the group facilitator, among other roles.

Graphic facilitation is the use of a combination of graphics such as diagrams, pictures, symbols, and writing to lead people toward a goal in meetings, seminars, workshops and conferences. The graphics are usually drawn by hand, by a person called a graphic facilitator, who may create the graphics in real time during the event and may work alone or together with another person called a facilitator who aids the discussion.

The article "A Graphic Facilitation Retrospective", written by David Sibbet in 2001, told the story of early pioneers of graphic facilitation who were inspired by architects (with understanding of large imagery), designers, computer engineers (who started to cluster information in a new way), art and psychology. Sibbet described that what at a glance "just" looked like graphics was much more: "It was also dance, and story telling, since the facilitator was constantly in physical motion, miming the group and its communication with movement, as well as commenting on the displays, suggesting processes and the like." An early paper in the field of graphic facilitation was "Explicit Group Memory" by Geoff Ball, who claimed that a shared picture is the best way to support group learning or, more importantly, a lasting memory in the group.

Graphic recording combines the skills of a note-taker and an artist to visually represent information communicated orally in a group of people, but usually without much interaction between the person doing the graphic recording and the other people. Graphic recording is used to create visual summaries of meeting dialogue or conference speakers' presentations. Key skills of graphic recording include listening to people, thinking about what information is most important in what they have said, organizing the information in a way that can be communicated graphically, and drawing graphics that are visually and emotionally appealing.

See also

• Facilitation (business)
• Graphic organizer
• Information design
• Information visualization
• Mind map
• Rich picture
• Sketchnoting

Further reading

• Agerbeck, Brandy (2012). The graphic facilitator's guide: how to use your listening, thinking & drawing skills to make meaning. Chicago: Loosetooth.com Library. ISBN 9780615591872. OCLC 794008185.
• Averett, Nancy (February 2014). "The art of inspiration: why companies are hiring artists to record their brainstorms". Inc. Vol. 36, no. 1. p. 88.
• Bojer, Marianne Mille; Knuth, Marianne; Magner, Colleen (2008). "Graphic facilitation". Mapping dialogue: essential tools for social change. Taos tempo series: collaborative practices for changing times. Chagrin Falls, Ohio: Taos Institute Publications. p. 130. ISBN 978-0971231283. OCLC 276344518.
• Breselor, Sara (June 2015). "The big picture". Communication Arts. 57 (2): 24–27.
• Justice, Thomas; Jamieson, David W. (2012). "Graphic facilitation". The facilitator's fieldbook: step-by-step guides, checklists, samples and worksheets (3rd ed.). New York: AMACOM. pp. 175–179. ISBN 9780814420089. OCLC 755072114.
• Margulies, Nancy; Sibbet, David (2007). "Visual recording and graphic facilitation: helping people see what they mean". In Holman, Peggy; Devane, Tom; Cady, Steven (eds.). The change handbook: the definitive resource on today's best methods for engaging whole systems (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. pp. 573–587. ISBN 9781576753798. OCLC 66527256.
• Pearpoint, Jack (2002). Hints for graphic facilitators. Toronto: Inclusion Press. ISBN 1895418453. OCLC 50186015.
• Qvist-Sørensen, Ole; Baastrup, Loa (2019). Visual collaboration: a powerful toolkit for improving meetings, projects, and processes. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781119611042. OCLC 1126156035.
• Sibbet, David (2005). "Graphic facilitation: the art of drawing out the best in people". In Schuman, Sandy (ed.). The IAF handbook of group facilitation: best practices from the leading organization in facilitation. Jossey-Bass business & management series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. pp. 155–170. ISBN 078797160X. OCLC 57000802.
• Sonneman, Milly R. (1997). Beyond words: a guide to drawing out ideas. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. ISBN 0898159113. OCLC 35808328.
• Tyler, Carlotta; Valek, Lynne; Rowland, Regina (2006). "Graphic facilitation and large group methods". In Bunker, Barbara Benedict; Alban, Billie T. (eds.). The handbook of large group methods: creating systemic change in organizations and communities. Jossey-Bass business & management series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. pp. 394–406. ISBN 0787981435. OCLC 67346067.
• Winkel, Michelle; Junge, Maxine Borowsky (2012). Graphic facilitation and art therapy: imagery and metaphor in organizational development. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. ISBN 9780398087388. OCLC 760978697.