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Going live digitally as a Graphic Recorder

As an architect I was used to work analog and digitally. So when the first digital Technology came on the market for graphic recorders, I was very fascinated about the possibilites. One of my first digital Graphic Recording gigs was in 2011 for an association of Human Resources. They asked me, if I could make the graphic recording in a digital way. And I accepted the challenge. At that time with a wacom tablet, using photoshop on my computer. The first challenge was, to connect my laptop to the beamer. Apple TV and WLAN have not worked - fortunately the cable connection brought success. Creating a graphic recording in a digital way, when it's presented through the beamer in real time is a very powerful tool! All in the room get on the same page directly and it can support participants to stay focused on the topic.

At that panel discussion the panelist-people where sitting on a sofa in front of a large screen. The people in the room have not been informed that there will be a graphic recording - and that everybody in the room will be able to see it. I was SO nervous! So after a little while they noticed that on the screen things are emerging and showing up. And after a while the panelists themselves noticed that there was something going on behind them ... and ... my hand has been trembling in a way that people could see how much even through the lines and words. What a special moment ... not feeling comfortable at all. After some deep breaths my fear transformed more into a driver and I got into motion. People in the room appreciated it a lot that they have been able to see, how the whole picture was developing and reflecting the conversations. The different perspectives of the panelists (here about the role of HR in Organizations) have been even more clear with all the possibilities and differences.

So the value of the process and the result are high. Just make sure, the graphic recordings are shown / made public to the participants directly after the end of the session. If you do a graphic recording digtially during a presentation you need to have at least 2 beamers (one for the presentation and one for the graphic recording). With all technologies of today a lot more is possible - just find out what fits best to you! It can be real fun to draw digitally!

Today I'm offering graphic recordings analog and digitally. It depends on the intention of the visuals. Just be aware, that - if a group is together for a whole day / more days in a space - it's a huge advantage to see how things are evolving during that time through the visuals. With a digital graphic recording, if you don't show them afterwards continuously on a screen or print them out directly, they are out of the room by switching of the beamer. So use wisely that momentum which can be created through a good graphic recording which is connected to a whole process of collaboration!