During the past few very busy months, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the WHO of what I do. Who am I serving? Who values this work? Since July I’ve worked with insurance, local councils, an international aid agency, consultants in business, marketing and change management, a supermarket, a dietitian, and a comedian. I think the thing that all of these different people have in common is that they want to delight their audience.

Graphic recorders bring a whole lot of value to a wide range of events – especially right now while we’re meeting remotely. We help make meaning, we create another layer of understanding – and what we do looks good – which makes YOU look good!

The most common people booking me at the moment seem to fall into one of these groups.

The facilitator

More and more, facilitators are partnering with a graphic recorder when running workshops and strategy sessions. It makes so much sense. While a facilitator is focusing on the group, I’m listening to every little thing they say. It frees up the facilitator to concentrate on what’s really happening – the non verbals, the vibe. And while they call it out – I’m capturing it. While they connect ideas and circle back to emerging themes – I’m capturing it.

The specialist

A graphic recorder can help bring webinars and workshops to life by capturing the content as a specialist takes a deep dive. Since working virtually I’ve captured webinars on everything from culture change to literacy, from developing strategy as a board to developing a business plan as a small biz. Virtual webinars can become a little bit blah… especially after more than a year of them! The great thing about having a graphic recorder capture a webinar is you’ve got a beautiful reminder of the key takeaways to share with your audience after the session – and some great collateral to share across social media to promote your next event!

The conference organiser

Rarely will you see a conference run these days without a graphic recorder at the event capturing all of the speakers and panels. It’s a great way to increase engagement and help those attending retain all of the content they’ve witnessed while they’re there. A lot of conferences have moved online in the past year – and there’s even more value having a graphic recorder in the sessions virtually as part of the event.

So, are you in one of these three groups? Or, like me, is delighting people every chance you get the most important thing? Reach out if you want to bring some delight to your next live event or workshop.