Drawing Discussion

This technique emphasizes visual and graphic ways of talking to each other and is appreciated by those who process information spatially and communicate ideas visually. Even highly word-dependent people like the two of us find it an energizing and refreshing way to deal with familiar questions and topics. We use it to ensure that as wide a variety of participants as possible can feel engaged in a class, workshop, or meeting.

Purposes

• To prioritize visual and pictorial expression over spoken and written words
• To free up participants' creative capacities by using symbolic and metaphoric strategies to express ideas
• To enable those who learn best through images and visual representations to exercise leadership
• To add variety and fun to discussion-based interactions

How It Works

• A question or problem is posed, such as “What does a good discussion look like?” “How do we know when a theory has explanatory power?” “How can photosynthesis be explained visually?” “What is a moral action?”
• Each participant is given a sheet of paper, a few markers, and a handful of magazines to create a drawing or collage that addresses the question. Highly abstract designs with no attempt at representation are fine. People work by themselves for about ten minutes.
• Participants then convene in small groups, and each person explains his or her drawing or collage to the other group members.
• The group discusses how the individual images connect or contradict each other and works to produce a final group visual incorporating some aspect of each individual's composition. One member takes notes regarding what the group is attempting to communicate.
• Once the group pictures are completed, each is displayed on a wall around the room and a blank sheet of paper is placed next to each.
• People are invited to tour the gallery of visuals and provide comments, questions, and reactions on the blank sheets. They are encouraged to do this using images rather than words.
• The whole group reconvenes, and participants can ask different groups about their postings. The member who took notes as the group visual was developed takes the lead in responding to questions posed about a group's drawing or collage.

Where and When It Works Well

1. In highly verbal environments. This is a refreshing change in settings where there's a strong and habitual reliance on the spoken and written word.
2. To express the inexpressible. This offers a creative way for members to communicate ideas and feelings that are expressed more powerfully visually.
3. Relationship building. The energy of this technique often gets people to relate to each other more casually and amiably.

What Users Appreciate

1. The change of pace. The routine of PowerPoint presentations, Q&A, small-group discussions, and large-group debriefings is dramatically interrupted by this exercise.
2. The chance to exercise creativity. Drawing Discussion is an opportunity to flex creative muscles and explore issues with new freedom and intellectual abandon.
3. The raised energy of enjoyment. The move away from traditional communication formats inevitably raises the level of energy in the room. We like to do this in the afternoons and evenings when flatness and sameness set in.

What to Watch Out For

1. Pacing. Facilitators must be on the lookout for groups that are unusually speedy and those that are surprisingly unhurried. Some groups finish up prematurely and should be encouraged to add more content and depth to their postings. Others are reluctant to move from the discussion to the drawing part of the exercise or tend to linger over unnecessary pictorial details. They should be reminded to stay within the agreed-on time limits.
2. Abstractness. The drawings really get groups' creative juices flowing, but sometimes this also means that the representations they produce are highly abstract and difficult to understand or interpret. This is why the note-taker role is crucial for the final debriefing.
3. Self-consciousness. Both of us are like many others who feel they have no artistic, drawing, or graphic ability. Facilitators must keep reminding everyone that artistic proficiency is irrelevant and that abstract images are encouraged.
4. Modeling. Facilitators should participate in the exercise by creating their own visuals. If they have no artistic ability, this underscores their commitment to the exercise.
5. Mistiming the introduction of the exercise. This is best introduced when you have already built some credibility and trust with the group. In a highly formal or authoritarian setting, people will typically initially recoil from something as flaky as a drawing or collaging discussion. Facilitators should emphasize it's a good way to loosen up people and uncover previously unarticulated ideas and viewpoints.

Questions That Fit This Protocol

• Questions that fit being answered in visual terms obviously work well here: “What does it look like when a meeting or discussion is sabotaged?” “What would it look like for our community to be effective?” “What does effective collaboration across our organization look like?”
• Questions that ask for actions or behaviors also work well: “How do leaders behave who support their coworkers in performing their best work?” “How can we get people in the community more involved in local initiatives?”