What is Graphic Facilitation?

Last week at our orientation session for new Concordia TA’s, there was a mini-workshop on Graphic Facilitation tools and techniques in the classroom. What exactly is graphic facilitation, and how is it useful? Graphic Facilitation is the use of imagery and visual tools to help develop shared understanding, think through complexity, provide feedback, and communicate better. The method is used in various academic and professional environments - meetings, seminars, worshops and conferences - by all types of people. Before you say "But... I can't draw," consider these facts: an estimated two thirds of all people are visual learners, and one fourth of our brain is devoted to processing visual information. Combining speech with images increases retention by 40%! You don’t need to be an artist. Anyone can learn how to integrate graphic facilitation into their work or academic settings. But you do need to familiarize yourself with how to effectively communicate through drawing, develop visual techniques, and practice. Montreal organizations like Percolab and CoCo offer comprehensive and highly interactive Graphic Facilitation workshops. Check out their websites for upcoming workshop. There are also plenty of tutorials available on YouTube, like ‘Learning Graphic Facilitation - 7 Elements by Bigger Picture'. There is a higher purpose to doodling after all.