Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes and Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity

by David Sibbet

Use eye-popping visual tools to energize your people! Just as social networking has reclaimed the Internet for human interactivity and co-creation, the visual meetings movement is reclaiming creativity, productivity, and playful exchange for serious work in groups. Visual Meetings explains how anyone can implement powerful visual tools, and how these tools are being used in Silicon Valley and elsewhere to facilitate both face-to-face and virtual group work. This dynamic and richly illustrated resource gives meeting leaders, presenters, and consultants a slew of exciting tricks and tools, including
Unlocking formerly untapped creative resources for business success, Visual Meetings will help you and your team communicate ideas more effectively and engagingly.

Genres: Business, Design, Nonfiction, Leadership, Communication, Management, Self Help

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2010

Reviews

[Blog on Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

In “Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes and Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity,” (Wiley) author and business consultant David Sibbet, explains, in quite lucid terms, the advantages of utilizing the new language of visual thinking particularly in the group setting for the creation and communication of ideas, plans and programs designed for ease of use and maximum comprehension.

Sibbet begins by explaining the advantages of visual thinking, the tools involved, the language of the communicator as well as the rules of the road for navigating group meetings around the creative process. In Sibbet’s view, (much like Dan Roam’s earlier work) visual thinking has it’s own language, where symbols, boxes, arrows and lines serve distinct purposes in communicating organizational ideas. From brainstorming to idea mapping to storytelling, the book describes every aspect of visual (i.e. graphic) communication, including formating your output using templates, up-to-the-minute software resources and even tablets like the iPad.

Sibbet’s book is similar to Roam’s previous work, wit perhaps a greater emphasis on the group aspect of visual thinking, but either book unlocks the code of presenting ideas in graphics instead of text. After spending time with any of these books, you will be convinced that you need a white board for nearly every conversation. Bring plenty of Sharpies.

[Dimitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains a good reference to the Strategic Visioning Model

Planning

Outcomes/Agenda/Roles/Rules

Hindsight

History
Present Context: Current Factors (Tech-Political)/Trends/Needs/Uncertainties

Insight (Good for Break out)

SPOT: Strengths/Problems/Opportunities/Threats

Foresight

Cover story featured your team: Cover/Headlines/Sidebar/Quotes
Vision: Themes/Bold Steps/Supports/Challenges

Actions

Gameplan: Resources/Stages/SuccesFactors/Challeges/Target

My Highlights: https://learning.oreilly.com/u/748020...

[Janjans · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise about how to apply the theory however I felt that that The Back of the Napkin: Expand Edition was much better at concisely describing how to use visual tools to collaborate on problems.

To be honest I think a lot of the value was more looking at the sidebar graphics and notes.

It's trying to be an exhaustive resource but at some point it lost its clarity along the way.

[Dan]

Great book.
The concepts of the Visual Thinking Codex is really great.

The book helped me understand how many totally different problems can be structurally analyzed by sketching. And sketching then helps me to be become clearer in my head and to find open and unsolved questions.

Highly recommendable!

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the art.
Helped our company use visuals with more confidence.
Helpful for anyone in sales.

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started out very strong and then lost a bit of momentum. Overall a great read though that inspired me to make changes in how I work and present my work.

[Ashish Anand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read which helps us understand why humans connect easily by means of pictures.

[Carina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still relevant and great ideas

These ideas are relevant in person or remote... adjusting to wfh requires some creativity but more possible to use these remotely than ever before.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading books in this field so that my notes become less drawings and more notes.

[Stringy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best praise I can give this book is that I kept putting it down so I could sketch out my plans and ideas on how to apply its techniques to the meetings I have scheduled over the next month.

I like Sibbet's use of storytelling to present his case studies. It's probably not everyone's cup of tea. But even though I usually glaze over these sorts of "one time when I was at Company XYZ..." stories I found his very interesting and applicable to my own experience. He's concise without leaving out the really telling details, and the purpose of the stories is to show how to apply the techniques rather than promote himself.

Sibbet's methods are best suited to facilitators rather than dictators. He focuses on collaborative and imaginative ways of problem-solving, and is confident that all employees have useful knowledge inside them that just needs to be communicated to the rest of the team.

The example drawings and diagrams supported his stated methodology too - suggestive and open-ended rather than detailed and locked-down, with the goal of inspiring rather than lecturing. This made it easier for me to apply them to my own situation.

Overall I'd recommend this book to anyone who has to run or facilitate meetings or workshops, and is looking for a way to make them both engaging and productive.

[Manuel Frias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must admit that I had no idea what graphic facilitation or graphic recording was before reading this book. Nor I knew there were people who do this for a living!

The idea is good: how to make meetings more memorable, how to learn more from them and how to engage people. Things that are actually lacking in many meetings.

I liked the clear and simple structure of the book. There is, however, maybe to much description on each technique. But that is probably the whole idea - a description of methods for making visual meetings.

My only doubt is: if it's so effective how on earth it's so little used? Are they popular only in USA? Why? My guess is that it requires a complete new mind set. Changing mentalities is always hard.

[Isadora Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eminently scannable and flip-thru-able. A good desk reference for those rare spare moments between assignments at work, over lunch at the desk, or in anticipation of an upcoming facilitation event or brainstorming meeting. The book delivers a powerful message, simplicity in pictures, and actually speeds up communication, collaboration, and process mapping skills. I would think it would be useful to teachers, scientists, and anyone who ever has to stand up in front of a white board with a marker in hand, as well. Maybe even writers.

[Lori Gravley]

Love the Large Group Reflections template. Four essential questions targeting deisre, presesnt status, process questions, and brainsortming solutions.

The discussions of presentations without PowerPoints is spot on PP is a push model--pushing information out to learners instead of pulling them into the process.

The chapter on Training and Workshops provided some key ideas for using the methods in training: flip chart agendas for activities, murals for information, and the What Worked/I Wish ideas seem particularly appropriate.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having witnessed David Sibbet at a meeting, I must say that he is incredible to watch. We walked into a room with blank walls, during our meeting our ideas started to take shape before our eyes and at the end of the meeting the energy was so positive. So different from past meetings, I'd pay extra for meetings like this all the time.

I know I'm not a person who can lead graphic meetings like this, it is an art, however, I'd gladly attend them and pay for them.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ DEC 2010

Easy read on how to create engaging meetings using visuals. Best quotes, "humans need to answer the social, emotional questions about working with other people before we can completely focus on the thinking and other work involved" (Kindle ref. # 1553) and "If a group has not experienced the need to change, they won't" (Kindle ref. # 4393).

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read because, as the name implies, it has lots of graphics & visuals. If you need some inspiration to get away from the hypnotic powerpoint meeting doldrums, this book offers options. A bit overboard for my taste, but I appreciate the creative reasoning and practical examples.

And he likes sticky notes. Yay.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Changed the way that I view meetings and both personal and group productivity. Extremely practical and insightful, and the author doesn't skimp on the graphics that he preaches, making this a fairly easy read.

[Juan Castro · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a too-long book for the content it delivers. After reading The Back of the Napking, this book isn't that helpful at all. If you're 100% new to meetings and graphic modeling of ideas, then this book might help you in some way, otherwise I think it doesn't worth the time.

[gramakri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of interesting ideas but too much of self-promotion. Felt like I was reading a long and dry brochure of the author's company. OK for people who have never been exposed to the concept of Visual Meeting but the rest can look elsewhere.

[Minh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very useful guidebook in organising team meeting and presenting ideas.
I will recommend to every supervisor/middle-managers for running his/her team next meeting with excitements and joys.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veldig nyttig og inspirerende!

[Fred Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Nice book on practical techniques for meeting facilitation. Mostly a reference, skimming sort of book."

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great reference to someone who wants to facilitate visual meetings and to lead visual thinking into teams.

[Ed van der Winden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unlike The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam this book does NOT practice what it preaches. In my opinion this is a major sin for a book about visual methods.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great toolkit for livening up meetings

[Kathie · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can I not like this book, this is what I do. And you don't have to be artistically gifted to use it, he teaches great little tricks for drawing that any graphically-challenged person can learn.

[Frederic Vandaele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice Use cases that express the core ideas.
Discuss about various techniques using e.g. sitcky notes, templates and dot voting

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference book for facilitators who want to add graphics to their skills and tools of facilitation

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super dargestellt leider sehr klein geschrieben ...

[Katharina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the bulletpoint tipps, but it didn't draw me in nor keep my attention. I prefer Dan Roams books by far!