Picture this
Why would you draw pictures during meetings or brainstorm sessions? Whatever happened to the good ole minutes?
Drawings are not a substitute for taking minutes. They support the (creative) processes and rapidly bring emotions, atmosphere or important items into view. They provide focus and liveliness.
High time to try your hand at scribbling yourself. What? You can’t draw? Oh yes, you can!
Artless
There are pictures in all shapes and sizes, ranging from simple doodles to Art. And who dictates it should be Art? In a meeting a simple drawing may be more than enough to state your point.
Simple
The crux is to keep it simple. We all have the very simplest pictures in our pockets and handbags: the smileys in our mobile phones. Does a plan give you good vibes? Put a 
next to it. As plain as day.
Just take a look at those smileys and ask yourself which you can use. Bad atmosphere? A thundercloud is drawn in a jiffy. See a sunny future? You could draw a smiling sun when you were four years old, so that won’t be any problem. Do some of your clients make you smile? Just put a heart next to their name.
Translate
Many a meeting focuses on the question: what do we want to achieve? Maybe the answer is: a 25% rise in revenue in 2020. A small chart with a (green) climbing line is drawn in seconds. Are you worried about the future? Then a (red) downward-sloping line may represent your feelings more accurately.
Literally
Often it’s very funny to take an expression literally. And when people laugh, the atmosphere gets better, the focus gets sharper and the memory gets stronger.
For instance: if you saw this picture while you were discussing ‘our point on the horizon’, you probably will never forget what exactly you were talking about.
Suggestions
What do you think? Maybe you want to give it a try next time? Go ahead! It doesn’t have to be Art, remember. Some suggestions.
- Thinking out of the box.
- My point exactly!
- Can we park this for a moment?
- I’m feeling down.
