VisualsSpeak blog

Monthly meeting of the Northwest Coaches Association (NWCA)

TIME/DATE
Tuesday, March 11, 2008

– Free pre-meeting workshop from 5:45 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.
– Networking from 6:45 p.m - 7:15 p.m.
– VisualsSpeak Program from 7:15 p.m. - 9 p.m.

PRE-MEETING WORKSHOP DETAILS
Presenter: Veronika (Ronnie) Noize
Topic: Media Training Workshop
Description: Past President Ronnie Noize presents a shortened version of the Media Training Workshop created by media expert Peter Kerr for the ICF chapters leaders at the 2007 ICF Conference. Participants will learn how to prepare for a media interview, identify journalists’ techniques, tools, and traps, what constitutes “news” as well as practice an actual interview. This program and materials are used by permission of Peter Kerr of Kerr Communications, www.kerrcommunications.com.

Bio: Veronika (Ronnie) Noize, known professionally as The Marketing Coach, is the author of How to Create a Killer Elevator Speech, The Real Magic Bullet of Marketing, and a contributing author of Marketing Strategies that Work. As a marketing executive for over 10 years, Ronnie launched more than 200 consumer products, including software, books, comics, CDs, toys, and games, generating more than $650 million dollars through sales and licensing.

Voted the 2007 Coach of the Year by her chapter of the International Coach Federation, and named one of the Pacific NW’s 100 most influential women by the NW Women’s Journal, Ronnie is a dynamic speaker and sought-after marketing expert with an international clientele who helps small office/home office (SOHO) businesses attract more clients through her presentations, products and programs.

In addition to her busy speaking and coaching practice, Ronnie is a trainer for International Coach Academy, an accredited coach training school in Australia, and an active member of several business and philanthropic groups. In 2004 she founded the Northwest Women’s Virtual Business Network, a virtual space where businesswomen in the Portland/Vancouver area can network and connect with others. Visit her group at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/NWWomensBizNetwork.

Ronnie’s web site is a comprehensive resource with free articles and valuable marketing tools for small office/home office businesses and independent sales professionals. Visit her web site at www.VeronikaNoize.com, or call her at 360-882-1298.

PROGRAM DETAILS
Guest Speaker: Christine Martell, MS
Topic: VisualsSpeak Workshop
Description: Christine Martell, Principal of VisualSpeaks LLC, will present an interactive tool designed to bridge the right and left sides of our brains, making learning faster, more interesting and more effective. Through this experiential process, you will learn how to offer your clients new ways of gaining perspective and insights, and provide them with a richer set of data from which to base critical decisions. See how answering questions through images and pattern can unlock a different set of stories than words alone. These techniques can be used to increase individual or team performance and communication, leading to fast and insightful outcomes.

Bio: Christine Martell is an accomplished consultant, public speaker and artist with more than 25 years of professional experience. The VisualsSpeak tool she developed has been used by corporate trainers, independent consultants, small- and medium-size businesses, global corporations, non-profits, educational institutions, and organizations focused on intercultural communications.

Christine earned a bachelor of fine arts in textiles in 1982 at the Rhode Island School of Design. Over the next decade, she worked primarily as a product artist, exhibiting and attracting awards for her work in a wide variety of venues across the United States.

In 1995, Christine made the transition from a product artist to a process artist, concentrating on helping others to discover the value inherent in the process of creating art. She served as a facilitator at the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina, where she developed ways to help art students reduce their creative anxiety and counseled them on issues related to classes and student affairs.

Christine earned a master’s degree in education from Portland State University in 2004, where she researched the benefits of visual communication as a training tool. She holds certificates of completion in a variety of training & development topics including intercultural training, multi-media and Web-based training, and management of training.Christine started VisualsSpeak in 2005 as a way of bringing the VisualsSpeak approach to a broad range of audiences. She is passionate about opening up the whole person so people can really be appreciated for who they are, and feels she is throwing life lines to people who really need to discover new openings. You can visit her website at http://www.visualsspeak.com/.

COST: $15 for guests and non-member coaches; free for chapter members and ASTD-Cascadia members.

REGISTRATION:Pre-registration not required

LOCATION
SCOTTISH RITE CENTER, 709 SW 15th Avenue , Portland, OR 97205

Hope to see you there.

This is part of a series of posts about the VizThink Challenge. Previous posts have covered how the challenge came about, an overview, what images were used, and what the words tell us.

Other levels of information

In this post we’ll be looking at the third and fourth levels of information derived from a VisualsSpeak Strategic Thinking process. Below are the four levels of data we analyze:

1. Which individual images were selected across all groups.
2. Analysis of the content of the written descriptions.
3. The visual language in the structure of each table’s image.
4. The intersection of the words and images, and how they are used together. Read the rest of this entry »
   

The VizThink Challenge offered Artrain a chance to have three facilitators using three different visual techniques work on an organizational challenge as part of the VizThink 08 conference. Forty table groups using the VisualSpeak ImageSet each created an image and wrote a description in response to the question:

How can we visualize the power of the Artrain experience to engage individual and corporate sponsors?

For the first level, we looked at the frequency of image use. We then invited our colleague Dr Rene-Marc Mangin to bring his perspective as a marketing communications consultant to analyze the narrative used by each table to describe their images. Read the rest of this entry »

The VizThink Challenge engaged close to 400 visual thinkers attending VizThink 08 to work on an organizational challenge with Artrain USA.

Forty table groups participated in the VisualsSpeak part of the process. Each table created an image and a written description in response to the question: How can we visualize the power of the Artrain experience to engage individual and corporate sponsors?

Each group used the VisualsSpeak ImageSet, so they all had the same 200 tested images to choose from. The set is organized into four main categories, each with three subcategories. We created a chart reflecting the category breakdown in the set. We then organized the images by how many tables used each one. Read the rest of this entry »

At VizThink 08, we participated in a challenge to assist Artrain with an organizational challenge. They are transitioning from using trains to specially designed trucks to bring their exhibits around the country.

We didn’t have time to prepare, and there were two other facilitators and techniques working on the same problem. I worked with forty tables of participants, perhaps as many as 350 people. We were presented with a question, and had 30 minutes to respond.

Each table had the same 200 photographs and produced a collective image along with a written description. We have been looking at the data to see what kind of wisdom emerges from a large group of visual thinkers.

About the audience

Artrain wanted input on how to engage individual and corporate sponsors. This was an ideal audience to ask for this sort of feedback. The conference fees were significant enough to discourage those who were not totally committed to attend. The audience was composed of people who were already in visual thinking or were interested in the field. And their were representatives of major corporations there such as: Apple, IBM, Intuit, Microsoft, Wells Fargo.

Where the data comes from

We are looking at four sources of information.

1. Which individual images were selected across all groups.
2. Analysis of the content of the written descriptions.
3. The visual language in the structure of each table’s image.
4. The intersection of the words and images, and how they are used together.

Each one of these different data points can offer insight, as well as a big picture view emerging from the patterns running across all four of the information sources. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I was asked to facilitate a day long leadership development session for high-level government leaders. The session was held at a retreat center. The group would consist of thirty-five people.

Ten days before the session, we visited the site. There were two meeting rooms reserved for us. Neither one of which would hold both enough tables and the participants. I could either have a room full of tables or a room full of participants. Not good. I had to have both. Did I mention that the rooms were on two separate floors? Oh my, I do love a challenge! Read the rest of this entry »

Who came and what they were interested in

Five groups joined me for a facilitated break-out session at VizThink 08 to explore the various aspects that make visuals speak.

The first session I facilitated was on Monday afternoon. By this time, I knew the community that came together for this event was special. The only other times I have been with so many people interested in visuals was when I worked at Penland School of Craft and attended RISD. The difference this time was this audience also shared an interest in the intersection of visuals and business.

I wanted to get a bit more information about them as a group, so I drew a quick mini-assessment on the Nomad Rolling Dry Erase Panel provided by Kinetic Energies.

The top chart column asks for people to identify the sector they work in: non-profit, education, government , or corporate. The rows ask about role: small business owner, independent consultant, individual contributor, manager, or executive. The largest number of participants were small business owners and individual contributors working in a corporate environment.

The section at the bottom asked about the topics they were most interested in. The ones that came out at top were:

• visual literacy
• visual language
• creativity and innovation
• creating visual tools Read the rest of this entry »
  

As part of the VizThink 08 conference, philanthropic partners were selected to take part. One of those selected was Artrain USA. For thirty seven years Artrain has brought artwork to rural communities around the country in an antique train.

“Artrain USA is America’s Hometown Art Museum. A nonprofit organization, its mission is to enrich lives and build communities through the arts. As an art museum housed in vintage rail cars and traveling via the nation’s railways, Artrain USA brings world class art exhibitions and art education programs to communities and their residents. Artrain USA delivers exceptional opportunities for learning, growth and art appreciation while encouraging the development of local cultural programs and organizations.”

Artrain visited the town I live in. I was very impressed with the quality of art, the way they had installed it in the train, and how the staff engaged us when we were visiting. So I was particularly thrilled when I discovered Artrain was the organization I would be working with for the VizThink Challenge. Read the rest of this entry »

You are invited to attend!

If you are going to be in the Portland, OR area this Tuesday February 12, Christine will be presenting for the local SIETAR-PDX (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research) group. Please feel free to drop by. This event is free and open to the public.

Christine will be showing how the VisualsSpeak ImageSet can be used to increase cultural awareness and cultural competency. She will also speak about how the tool can be used in other applications such as strategic visioning, diversity training, and team building.

This session will be hands-on and experiential. Bring your questions.

Hope to see you there!

Date: Tuesday February 12, 2008
Start Time: 6:30 PM Potluck snacks and drink
Where: The Intercultural Communication Institute (ICI)
8835 SW Canyon Road, Suite 238
Portland, OR 97225

For directions using Google Maps

Here are more posts written by the VizThink facilitators. VizThink is also collecting all the materials from the conference and putting them up on a wiki, which will serve as one piece of a membership site.

Ryan Coleman is the coordinator for VizThink Toronto. He’s been doing a great job getting his local area inspired about visual thinking. I know I have wanted a community around this aspect of my work for a long time.

• VizThink Wrap-up: Building Visual Thinking Communities

Jamie Nast specializes in mindmapping. I had the pleasure of working a bit with her for the VizThink challenge, which I will be reporting on soon.

• IdeaMap: VizThink Breakout Sessions

Brent Schlenker is someone I have exchanged blog comments with. I’m always interested in meeting people in person to see if my impressions of them formed through their online identities match with face to face. Brent has an edgy humorous online feel, yet I found him to be quite warm and personable live in the room.

• Scott McCloud - Understanding Comics
• CommonCraft - Photo Sharing in Plain English - VizThink08
• VizThink08 - Thoughts from Monday
• VizThink08 - Day 2 - Morning General Session
• VizThink08 - Evening 1 - My search for the VisualThinking eLearning connection

Dan Roam. Bring extra napkins if you are around Dan. He got everyone around him drawing on them. I heard lots of great things about his session.

• Jazzed about napkin sketches

Matthew Homan facilitated several exercises with the almost 400 participants. Having had that experience also, I truly appreciate what he was able to do. He wisely picked things that fit into the short times alloted, yet brought a bit of reflection to an otherwise very crowded schedule.

• Use Haiku to Get to the Point