When I first started this business, I had it in my head that being a graphic recorder meant “to show up and draw”.
For a while, that’s what I did. Got hired, showed up, drew, went home.
The client got the boards. Vibrant, colorful, and engaging, and I figured they had what they needed.
Along the way, and somewhere around 500 events later, I know that my job is more than that. The drawing is the visible part. But I would argue that there are three other parts that matter just as much, and most of them happen where nobody sees them. Let me explain.
Arrange, draw, see, act
What I do for clients actually occurs in four parts. The drawing is one part. The other three are the parts I just did without thinking about how they are actaully a key part of the work I do.
I will say, not every event team is involved in all four steps. But they are always there, and each one matters in its own way.
The parts look like this:
- Arrange the work.
- Draw the work.
- See the work.
- Act on the work.
Step one is the pre-event call. This always involves the client. Here we go through the agenda with the team., deciding where the drawing will take place, how I’ll participate (or not), and when we’ll build in time for reflection.
This part of the process was something I would mistakenly skip in my first years. I’d find out about the agenda when I showed up and read the room from the back. Now - knowing how the session is planned and going through it all ahead of time makes a real difference for how everything else unfolds, including how I am prepared to listen and to tie in all the content.
Step two is visible (and has always been): The day-of drawing, on a wall or a board, while the room talks, a presenter presents, or a panel discusses. Most people see this step and assume it's the whole job. I can understand that because it's what’s out front and in your face.
Event planners tend to see this as a set-and-forget piece of their production. Make sure Wade has a flat wall. Give him the mic at the start to explain what he does and at the end to recap. Easy.
Now for some more of that unseen stuff…
Step three: making sure people actually see the drawings during the event. I get attendees to sit near the boards, assign someone the job of cameraman so the tripod doesn't get kicked, and tell people which table to sit at so they can watch the visual summaries all day. Let’s face it - the drawings don't help if nobody looks at them.
This step also involves making time for strolling around after, taking in what was sketched and the way it was laid out. I'll often see groups forming around the boards and post-event conversations striking up there.
Step four, and for me one of the most exciting steps outside of actually drawing, is sitting down with the team after the event. We pull action steps out of the drawings. We talk about what landed, what can move to an action phase, and what would look different for next year.
This step, acting on the work, has become one of the most crucial pieces of the whole drawing package.
Most often at the end of an event, everybody who planned it is fried at that moment. They're too tired and numb to pay attention to what they got or didn't get. Discussing everything with stakeholders later, after the dust has settled, is what truly moves the needle.
When the team writes it down
Thinking you don’t have time to revisit an event you’ve completed? Why not build in time during the event? Trust me - reflecting on what was recorded really makes a difference.
Recently, I was drawing at a hospital system event. The morning had been full of talks and breakout sessions. And what the planners did after that was something I am STILL celebrating…they made time in that moment for the attendees to write down their action plans.
The team had built that time into the agenda. And I stayed in the room while they wrote.
The drawings on the walls were proof of what had been said. But the lists on the tables were proof of what the participants in the room were taking with them.
That’s what those four steps can give you. The seen and unseen work that I do with clients everyday - each step as critical as the next. It’s a package I am proud to offer. Is your event the place for it?
Grateful you are here,
Wade
