A guide to online live scribing: The easiest way to make your virtual event more engaging
What is live scribing?
Live scribing (also called live illustration) is the practice of creating a visual summary of an event, meeting or lecture. The images are created either on digitally on an iPad by identifying the key topics and most important messages. Once a session is over, the final image is ready to be shared online and with the participants.
Why you should have a live scribe at your event
Live scribing is not a new invention, but these days, when so many of our meetings have moved online, it’s gaining even more traction than before. It is especially useful at online events where it can be hard to maintain the attention of the audience.
Since people usually have an easier time processing visuals rather than text alone, a visual summary can help them understand what’s being said in real time, driving the key messages home
One tricky thing at virtual events is that it’s hard to concentrate to a talking head for long periods of time (also know as zoom fatigue), but live scribing is a great tool to break this pattern.
By sharing the iPad screen and how the live scribing develops, participants get a chance to take a sort of “art-break” and reset their attention levels. That way, they can jump back into the discussion with renewed energy afterwards.
What are the benefits of live scribing at online events?
For your audience
Your audience will receive a visual summary of what they have heard which makes the information more accessible, more memorable and easier to process. The live scribing helps the key messages sink in, and people can arrive at a common understanding through the visuals.
For the organisers
As the organiser, you will have creative visual content that you can project during your sessions, share on your social channels after the event and use in your reporting. Make sure to send the images to your speakers as a memento of the event!
So how does live scribing actually work?
A live scribe can connect to your event remotely from anywhere in the world!
Virtual and hybrid events
Live scribing can be used at online events, or live events that have an online component (hybrid). The live scribe can easily connect to your event via any event management platform (Zoom, Teams, etc.). After the briefing and a technical check-in, the live scribe will be ready to start drawing. If you have a specific color palette, logos and other elements that must be present on the visuals, be sure to give them to the artist before the sessions start.
During the event
During the event, you can have the option of having a dedicated channel just for the development of the graphic recording that you can project at selected moments as you like. If you don’t want to project the whole drawing process, you can have specific check-ins with the live illustrator. These usually happen at the beginning, middle and end.
After the event
You will receive the images either on the day of the event, or at the latest the next day. Once the event is over, you will have the possibility of adding certain small modifications if you see the need. You will have the copyright to the images so you will be able to use them in any way you like.
If you are interested in hiring me to live illustrate your next event, you can see some of my previous work or get in touch with me directly.