Want to be a Graphic Facilitator?
If you are a trainer, coach or facilitator I bet you’ll recognise the deep satisfaction of knowing you have changed someone’s view on the world even if it’s only in a small way. You’ve given them a skill they will have forever. Shared knowledge with them that they will always have. I mean really, it’s frickin amazing!
I love training people. It’s something I’m passionate about. Of course I typically train people to work more visually but what you might not know is that I deliver my training sessions using visual tools. I’m a Graphic Facilitator.
What is a graphic facilitator?
As trainers, coaches and facilitators you’re already an expert at what you do. Whether you’re training in one topic or across a range of programmes you already have a deep knowledge of your area of work and you probably already use some visuals. Pictures in your powerpoint? A smiley face on your feedback form? You do that already because it makes a difference. It makes things friendlier, more approachable and more accessible. Being a Graphic Facilitator is all that x1000!
“Being a Graphic Facilitator is all that x 1000!”
A Graphic Facilitator uses simple images and visual tools to help sessions be both more enjoyable and more effective. It’s win-win. People understand more of what you’re saying and can remember it for longer (honestly there’s a heap of science behind it). Add to that the fact that they enjoy it more too and you’ve seriously taken your sessions to the next level.
But I can’t draw!
Don’t worry. You’re not alone. It’s one of the most common things new trainees say to me…and don’t get me started on the education system that’s left a generation of perfectly capable adults convinced that they’re not creative…anyway...suffice to say it doesn’t matter. There is some drawing involved but it’s functional not artistic. So think stick figures rather than Botticelli. All the drawing skills you need can be taught.
Yes. Even to you my friend.
What does it involve?
That’s a simple one.
Your existing expertise / subject matter knowledge
plus
Visual tools / visual thinking knowledge
= next level facilitation
Everything from visual agendas, to flipchart hacks to visual scales and reviews, there are a tonne of really practical tools and methods that can fit in to what you are already delivering. Think of it as the cherry on top. No scrap that, think of it as the icing, the cherry and the glass of fizz you’re having with it. It can turn a session from a great cake into afternoon tea at the Ritz.
“The drawing involved is functional. It’s not art. It’s simple, practical and you can definitely do it. ”
Yep, sign me up!
Our awesome online course Be a Graphic Facilitator teaches you all the skills you'll need to take your delivery to the next level. 12 weeks of exercises and support from me, an expert in the field with over 14 years experience running a graphic recording studio. I've facilitated visually with clients as varied as Google, IKEA and the NHS.
At the online Graphic Change® Academy, content is available 24/7 so you can do the exercises when it suits your schedule. As well as online lessons and examples and guides, you also get a private group to share your work with peers and Q&A sessions with your tutor. The thing that really makes this course stand out from the online learning crowd though is individual tutor feedback on all your work as you move through the course. We keep classes small so that you get plenty of 1-1 feedback. It's a perfect place to learn how to be a Graphic Facilitator. The Graphic Change Academy has participants in 92 countries (and counting). To join them head to our Graphic Change Academy site.
“The material is fantastic” - L. Hurst-Brown
“The course was fantastic! Having more than 15 years of facilitation experience in different roles, I felt I just acquired a brilliant new toolset that will take my job to a completely different level. The lessons were engaging and challenging, and your feedback on my work really made a difference on how I see things now. I loved the idea of sharing my work with a small group, it created a safe and trusted environment where I could also learn from my classmates, their experience and their homework. This was definitely a great use of my time and my money!” - C Garcia
Find out more about training with us at the Graphic Change Academy
Graphic Change is a visual thinking studio that works with individuals and businesses helping them to get the benefits of working visually. If you want to find out more about working visually in meetings join our online course Be a Graphic Facilitator to learn the skills you need, or if you want to chat through a possible project, get in touch.
Cara Holland is the founder of Graphic Change and author of Draw A Better Business.
If you enjoyed this read, let us know by clicking the "like" below, and share it forward with the other visual thinkers in your life.
