Can an object – a passive actor – be considered a facilitator?

That’s what Sunny BenBelkacem and I came to agree in this episode of Workshops Work. As a graphic recorder and communication artist, Sunny brings workshops to life by visualising the discussions that take place.

The work produced by a graphic recorder can become a facilitator in itself – sparking discussion, pulling at threads, and creating meaningful connection and change.

Sunny has been helping facilitators to capture their workshops in visual form for over 20 years and, as you might expect, has some amazing ideas to share about the ways facilitators and graphic recorders can work together.

If you’re curious to know more about graphic recorders, Sunny’s experience of facilitation, or would just like to listen to an engaging and enthusiastic speaker, you will surely enjoy this episode.

You can hear Sunny discuss:

• Why you might want a graphic recorder in your workshops
• How graphic recorders and facilitators work together
• How she translates buzzwords and jargon into something of depth
• Whether the skills required to be a graphic recorder can be taught or are innate
• What changes in a room when you have your back to its occupants
• How imagery differs between cultures

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Questions and Answers

 [01:29] How did you get into visual facilitation?

 [03:49] How was it to realise that a hobby and interest of yours was actually a profession?

 [04:59] Why would a client pay for a graphic recorder?

 [09:08] How can facilitators and graphic recorders help each other?

 [12:05] How do you translate buzzwords into something of depth?

 [14:23] Can you learn to be a graphic recorder or is it a natural talent?

 [20:33] As you draw with your back to the room, do you hear hierarchies and patterns emerging in groups?

 [22:07] Do you communicate with the facilitator if you feel something important has gone unexplored?

 [23:54] How do you balance creating an honest representation of the discussion with creating something the clients will be happy to see?

 [27:34] Is there a difference between the way you visualise things in different cultural settings?

 [32:46] Who is the ‘third facilitator’?

 [36:28] Does the chart/drawing take on ‘afterlife’ once the facilitator(s) has left the room?

 [40:30] What makes a workshop fail and can you see a workshop’s success (or failure) in a visualisation?

 [46:18] Are you ever asked to add anything after the workshop is finished?

 [47:36] What is your favourite facilitation exercise?

 [53:31] Is there anything else you would like to say to the listeners?

Links to Check

• Sunny’s website
• International Forum of Visual Practitioners
• One-page episode summary
• Janine Underhill, of IDEA

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

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