Chair Act
August 11th, 2005During last week’s ELP Gathering I presented a small section of Helen Sanderson’s work on Positive and Productive Meetings. My section was based on a graphic I had done for her paper, depicting the PPM process.
This presented challenges. I had to find a way to express a very visual and active process to a hundred people. I use graphics as my primary teaching tool now, but generally with groups no larger than 35. This was a big jump in scale and I worried about visibility and resolution- how much information would be available to everyone. Another challenge was how to keep the attention of this many people after lunch in a room scattered with laptops and blessed with free wireless. This was day four of the conference, the last afternoon for many people. Attention spans would be short and eyelids would be heavy with sleep.
A slide projector would cover more wall space than a paper graphic, but would lack the energy. Despite the size, PowerPoint slides have limited information resolution. I opted for bigger paper hung higher. I teetered precariously on two chairs to draw the graphic. I think it’s harder to ignore the trainer when he’s in mortal peril as he draws pictures and gesticulates meaningfully.
I drew in the background green arrow with pastels in advance and almost knocked myself out with the fixative fumes. In pencil I laid out the general size and location of the ten steps. Standing on the chairs was a bit precarious at first, but once I got comfortable I forgot where I was. I appreciated being higher and able to see the faces of the people in the back. As I drew I referred frequently to the original graphic to make sure I got sequence and visual symbols right. The audience had copies of the graphic as well and I engaged them by asking what the characters were talking about or other details. When doing a graphic like this, with a narrative flow, depicting a human process, I try to add small details. I believe a good graphic will invite the eye in and encourage it to stay with the story. If someone asks, “Why are they talking about books and soccer at the meeting?” the graphic has done it’s job of inviting inquiry.
What worked:
Shared the process in some detail by building the graphic in real time with participants
Received good attention and eye contact
People talked with me and asked questions
Didn’t fall to my doom
Would change:
I wish I spent more time on the drawing. In reality, the quality of the drawing matters little; it’s the way visuals engage learners that really make them work. Still, I always want the drawings to be the best they can. I rushed unnecessarily.
I should have practiced large. There simply wasn’t time, but that usually helps a great deal. Drawing feels very different when using big gestures and the whole body. I probably should have practiced standing on chairs too.
