A Brief History of Graphic Facilitation

In 2001, David Sibbet and Joan McIntosh of The Grove Consultants International facilitated the following workshop that traced the history of graphic facilitation at the International Association of Facilitators Conference 2001 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Benefits of Improv for Business Innovation

Business, like life, is improvisational. You can plan all you want, but in the end, business is often about building relationships and adjusting to change as fast as it happens. As the world’s premier improvisational theatre, we know a little about that. You can learn how to become a better communicator, build a stronger team, create a more positive work environment, and stimulate creativity.

The World is Flat

Tom Friedman was on Charlie Rose. I'll always stop to watch him. Why? Because he's a Great Explainer. Always happy to listen to a clear speaker and well organized thinker. Friedman was talking about his new book The World is Flat. I half-listened last night and then made sure to tune in again today. I did this large scale, real-time drawing

Scientific American's Quarterly on the Mind

Walking through Boston Logan airport--my mind numbed by TSA's gentle touch, beeping people movers, businessfolk yakking on cellphones and the glare of a thousand florescent suns--I spotted an intriguing magazine hidden amoungst the alternating covers of John Paul II and various and sundry midrifts. Scientific American has put out a quarterly magazine addressing the brain, consciousness, learning, creativity, neuroscience and the nature of the mind, titled, simply enough, Mind. The current issue is a must-read for anyone in the broader facilitation-slash-consulting-slash-creative arts field; basically, anyone interested in unleashing creativity and understanding the underlying psysiology beneath our power to create should be enthralled by the publication. The recent issue contains articles on master mapper of emotions, Antonio Damasi; the original neuroscientist, Leonardo di Vinci; the unfairness reflex in primates observed by Emory University's Frans van der Waal; the left brain-right brain civil war; and what...

White Walls

Some graphic facilitators prefer the football-length of butcher block paper; others are flipchart junkies; and there is a population who can't survive without a beloved expanse of white wall. Here are some companies that offer writeable surfaces both portable and permanent.

MindMaps and MindManager

MindMaps may be difficult to consistently use. It helps if you can write and draw, while listening deeply to a discussion or presentation. Several companies have developed software tools based on the concept. Tony Goodson reviews MindManager.