I found this post in my drafts folder from an amazing and fun client workshop a few years ago... Photos by
Spotify crew was a blast! We had a great time listening deeply, practicing our drawn lexicon and telling / drawing out each other's stories in our 2 day workshop! We tried many exercises with the goal of practicing using visuals (i.e. decyphering, interpreting, explaining, drawing, connecting and making meaning together) in a way that makes sense for each individual. Some might use their visual skills for coaching sessions, unearthing individual perspectives to get a clear picture of the current collective understanding or presenting information to their teams in an engaging way. There are countless ways to integrate visuals into your work. I invite you to find your own way.
It's always an honor to walk people through a visual communication experience like the DRAW it OUT workshop! I'm constantly humbled as I witness people's vulnerability around the idea of 'drawing' and how it might find a place in their work. We've all experienced judgement upon us for our drawings - at some point a teacher or adult figure telling us that our artwork was 'good' or 'bad' thereby creating an impression that for so many of us has become a part of our identity.
This DRAW it OUT workshop creates space for you to step beyond that identity label (as a good or bad artist), to get beyond aiming for something 'swooshed' into an art room or gallery to be judged, and into using drawing as a tool to support you aimed at building better relationships through clear communication. Communication is a process. It's not a one time, one way thing. It's a process that happens within you and connects you to that which surrounds you. What if we think of drawing this way too?
We learn to see beyond the dots and lines to build meaning. What better way to begin to understand meaning than experientially? In this workshop, we get right up to the wall (on which hangs big paper - 4 x 6 ft-ish) and begin to make sense of ideas, processes, and stories in a non-linear way.
That blank space can reveal information about the person(s) drawing, the perspective in the room (or the perspectives missing from the room), the kink getting in everyone's way, where a disagreement starts and ends, what a system looks like holistically, how we aren't quite understanding each other, how we've left someone or something out, .... I could go on. The potential for what this tool can do for us is incredible.
It's not easy and it's not hard. It takes practice and it's worth practicing. It comes in many forms, this drawing while you think and express. I'm constantly impressed with where people take it and how they begin to use it. It's got potential if you practice and play with it.
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