Live Scribing: How To Use Live Illustration For Better Online Events
Online events don’t need to be a drag and a time suck. Live scribing could be the missing piece to a meaningful and memorable online event.
Save your attendees from boring online meetings with live scribing
Live scribing / live illustration is an excellent way to provide creative and compelling visuals that offer a fresh new perspective to you attendees and help them focus their attention.
What are the benefits of live scribing?
For your participants
-
Better focus and more engagement
-
Live illustration helps keep "zoom-fatigue" at bay
-
They will remember more from the sessions
For you as organiser
-
You will have tangible visual assets to post on social media (images and time-lapse videos)
-
You will stand out among other events and be more memorable
-
The satisfaction of offering a better event experience to your attendees
How does live illustration work?
Live scribing (also referred to as live illustration, graphic recording or digital sketchnotes) is the process of listening in at online meetings, identifying the key messages and turning them into visual summaries, using text and images.
The live scribing process
-
Step 1 - Before the event
We have a briefing call where we discuss the type of event you are organising, the agenda, the colour palette I should use (if there is a fixed one), and anything else that could be relevant for the live illustration.
-
Step 2 - During the event
After a successful tech check, I will join your event platform with my iPad connected. I will share my screen during the whole event and you’ll be able to select when you want to spotlight me to show the drawing process. You can make it a point to check in with the drawing process from time to time to help your attendees focus their attention or have a “creative break”. I’ll also send you the still images after each session.
-
Step 3 - After the event
After the event, you will have a chance to review the images and come back to me with some small edits if necessary. You will also receive all of the time-lapse videos ready to be posted to social media.
What kind of topics lend themselves well to live illustration?
Live illustration is a great addition to events covering almost any subject because visual summaries contribute to a better user experience. However, it’s best used at:
Policy events (such as the health effects of climate change)
Design conferences (for example Utterly Content)
Medical congresses (such as this one on neonatal pain management)
Science events
Frequently Asked Questions
-
I will send you the images right at the end of each session. For the time-lapse videos, I like to do some minor edits so that the flow of the video is ideal, so they are usually available the day after the event.
-
Yes, small edits are definitely possible after the event. More substantial changes are subject to discussion.
-
Yes, absolutely. The role of the live illustrator is to listen to the conversation and look for the key concepts. Sometimes, not being an expert is actually an advantage. However, if you have a very technical event, I’m happy to do some preparation by reading some background material beforehand.
-
My iPad screen will be connected to your Zoom room / other platform throughout the whole event. Your tech person will be able to spotlight me anytime during the session and you can also announce special check-ins where you are looking at the visual for an extended period of time (this usually works best towards the end of the session).
Are you thinking about having live scribing / live illustration at your next event? Drop me a line to see if we can work together, I’d love to hear from you.