20 Tips for Facilitation Graphics - Part 4: The Secrets of 'Listening' and 'Editing'
Facilitation graphics (Faci-Gra) is not just about 'illustrating meeting minutes'; it is a powerful weapon for aligning participants' understanding by visualizing the discussion. Here, we organize 20 points you should know to move beyond the beginner level, divided into five categories.
The fourth installment covers techniques for 'listening' and 'editing'.
1. Don't write everything down (use keywords)
It is physically impossible to transcribe every single word a speaker says perfectly. Rather than trying to follow everything, prioritize picking up the 'nouns' that form the core of the information.
The trick is to boldly cut out redundant predicates and shorten important keywords into notes.
With just this one adjustment, the speed and accuracy of your recording will evolve dramatically.
2. Don't miss the '?' and '!'
During a meeting, someone might let slip a trivial 'question' or 'surprise.' In fact, these are often the importantturning pointsthat dramatically change the flow of the discussion. To ensure these valuable insights don't get buried, use symbols or icons to make them
visuallystand out. The effort to make them intuitively reviewable is the key to generating deep dialogue.
3. Add the speaker's 'name' or 'portrait'
When keeping records, it is extremely important to note not only 'what was said' but also 'who said it.' Simply adding the speaker's name or a portrait serves as a powerful hint to recall the atmosphere and context of the moment when looking back later. Make an effort to accurately capture the intent of the remarks and visualize the trajectory of the discussion more clearly.
4. Turn aerial combat into ground combat
When a discussion goes in circles and starts looping in the same place, it's time for the record to step in. Point to what you've written and ask, 'We are talking about this right now, aren't we?' to guide the participants' focus to thecurrent location.By visually pulling back a lost discussion and creating a shared understanding, it becomes possible to facilitate smoothconsensus building.
5. Create a 'parking lot' for pending items
When the conversation goes off-track, try creating a space on the side to jot it down, saying, 'Let's leave this here for now,' without dismissing it. Byvisualizingthe remark instead of ignoring it, participants can return to the main topic with satisfaction. Just having this 'parking lot' prevents the discussion from getting lost and dramatically improves meeting productivity. It is an essential technique for facilitation.