Visualisation
Two years ago I gave a talk on Visualisation and Doodling. Its not professionally recorded or anything but its good to see a visual.
2 Things which inspired my talk :
- We don’t use enough visual cues to support verbal conversations
- Sunni Brown’s book, The Doodle Revolution
These stood out for me especially with remote working these days. Where it’s easier to lose focus and engagement. Too often we are misaligned in what we say vs what we actually mean.
Visual cues can help us.
There is also something powerful about making things with your hands. It engages the mind and body and assists memory. When we feel, we remember.
Ever heard about the Paper Exercise? It’s a really fun experiment to do with your colleagues. It proves how important visuals, feedback and asking questions are to help us stay aligned especially when verbal information become complex.
There are few good storytellers who can paint a concept clearly in people’s head and keep the audience engaged. I tip my hat to those people. For the rest of us, use visuals regularly to clarify communication.
Did you know…
“Visual language is a system of communication using visual elements” Wikipedia
Agile is centered around visual language… in the boards we use to show our work, in retrospectives, in brainstorming sessions.
The benefits of visual language is simple. I call them the 3Ps. [They different to the Doodle Revolution book]
Process
To help process the information.
Plan
To help plan the work before starting.
Problem-solve
To help solve the right problem.
We all think in pictures. Its not only for “creative types”.
What is a Doodle?
Doodling
Keeps us focused.
Helps us to relax.
Doodling helps us think.
Nikola Tesla was a mental doodler. The inventor of wireless communication,
X-ray technology, remote control and fluorescent lighting. Such a doodler does not require an external visualisation of that model in order to see it, adjust it or improve it. Multiple scientists who worked with Tesla concurred that Tesla could almost instantly see a complex object in precise and realistic detail once he had heard its name. He rarely had a need to create drawings by hand. Instead, he rendered complete and final productions of a piece of equipment in his head!
Albert Einstein was a musical doodler. Music was no mere diversion. It helped him think. Whenever he felt that he had to come to the end of the road or faced a difficult challenge in his work, he would take refuge in music and that would solve all his difficulties. He would often play his violin in his kitchen late at night, improvising melodies while he pondered complicated problems. Then suddenly, in the middle of playing, he would announce excitedly, “I’ve got it!”
Steve Jobs was a kinesthetic doodler. According to people who worked with him, Jobs rarely sat down to think. He was like a lit fuse, and in meetings he used visual language naturally, drawing on whiteboards to show his concepts and strategies — but he also moved alot. Based on the fact that Jobs habitually considered and made decisions while in motion, I would call him a “kinesthetic doodler: (as well as an Infodoodler). He was a person who seemed to think better while making spontaneous marks with his physical body.
— credit : The Doodle Revolution Book, Sunni Brown
Other tools that help us process information…
Visualisation is a muscle.
“It can be grown, strengthened, STRETCHED and flexed. We can teach our brains to see more clearly.” - Sunni Brown
Do you remember the 3Ps?
