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visual notetaking

Revolutionize Virtual Events with Live Visual Notetaking

Unleash the hidden artist within and revolutionize your notetaking game with the captivating world of live visual notetaking! Say goodbye to mundane, text-heavy notes and immerse yourself in a vibrant fusion of text, images, and colors for your next event.

What is Visual Notetaking?

Visual notetaking is a powerful tool that helps utilize the brain’s creative potential. It offers an alternative to traditional notetaking methods by incorporating text, layout, imagery, and colors. 

Engaging one’s visual brain can help rekindle the act of writing by hand while simplifying complex information into valuable insights.

Benefits of Live Visual Notetaking

Live visual notetaking can provide a much more dynamic way of learning

Rather than simply jotting down the main points and ideas, it helps to create a more tangible experience and often facilitates better understanding. 

It also allows event attendees to engage their senses, which can benefit online attendees with learning differences, such as ADHD or autism, who may need more visual stimulation to focus on a task.

Basics of Live Visual Notetaking

Learning the skill of visual notetaking can greatly enhance your ability to absorb and retain information. 

Rather than simply writing notes in a linear, text-based format, visual notetaking involves using symbols, images, and graphics to represent ideas, facts, and concepts.

This technique is particularly advantageous for those who struggle with language processing but are more adept at remembering visual cues or patterns. 

Additionally, it can aid in breaking down complex concepts into more manageable pieces, facilitating comprehension.

Visual Notetaking Techniques

There is no definitive visual notetaking approach, as everyone works differently. However, it is possible to combine sketching with certain diagram types, such as mind mapping, flowcharts, or concept maps, to illustrate a topic in better detail.

  • Use mind maps or flowcharts to organize information 
  • Utilize visual metaphors and analogies to enhance understanding of a project
  • Experiment and practice with different drawing styles and techniques
  • Practice active listening and quick interpretation of spoken content
  • Develop a personal shorthand for commonly used words or phrases
  • Whether you’re making connections between different thoughts/ideas or trying to organize complex information, visual notetaking enables individuals to produce vibrant and visually appealing notes that are easy to review later on. 

    Some of the most popular types of live visual notetaking used at hybrid events include:

    1. Sketchnotes
    2. Mind maps
    3. Infographics
    4. Doodle-style notes
    5. Conceptual diagrams
    6. Graphic recordings
    7. Icon-based notetaking
    8. Visual metaphors
    9. Flowcharts
    10. Typography-based notes

    All these techniques can make abstract ideas more tangible and memorable while helping increase concentration during webinars and virtual sessions.

    How Does Live Visual Notetaking Work?

    Live visual notetaking during a virtual event involves creating visual representations of key ideas, concepts, and information in real-time while attending the event remotely. 

    It combines sketching, drawing, and text to capture the essence of the event visually.

    What Tools Are Used for Visual Notetaking?

    there are two graphic tablet computers sitting on a table with a cup of coffee and a plant in the background

    During a virtual event, a live visual notetaker uses digital tools such as graphic tablets, drawing software, or specialized apps to create visual notes. Some popular tools include: 

  • Procreate: Great for live visual notetaking during hybrid events on your iPad.
  • Mural: Online whiteboard for real-time visual collaboration, great for hybrid events with remote participants.
  • OneNote: Take visual notes during hybrid events and access them easily across devices with digital inking and drawing features.
  • Concepts: A sketching and design app for iOS and Windows that allows live visual notetaking during hybrid events with various tools and an infinite canvas.
  • Notability: A versatile notetaking app for iPad and iPhone. It allows for handwriting, drawing, and annotating, with shape recognition features and audio recording. It’s ideal for taking visual notes during hybrid events.
  • Using these tools, they listen to the speakers or presentations and translate the spoken content into visual form, incorporating images, videos, symbols, icons, colors, and text. 

    The visual notes are created on the spot and shared with the participants in real-time through screen sharing or uploading digital files.

    6 Tips for Live Visual Notetaking

    there are two toy people sitting on a round table talking to each other in a conversation room representing the concept of active listening

    Live visual notetaking during virtual events simplifies complex concepts, aids in recording key takeaways, and encourages communication among attendees through social media and event platforms. Use these best practices: 

    1. Listen actively and identify key ideas and concepts
    2. Use symbols, icons, and images to represent information visually
    3. Incorporate colors and typography to enhance the visual appeal
    4. Focus on capturing main points and highlights rather than detailed notes
    5. Maintain a good pace to keep up with the event while creating visual note
    6. Seek clarification or additional information if needed

    You need to listen carefully, think visually, and draw well when taking visual notes. 

    You must understand the presented information quickly, pick out the most important ideas, and organize them visually. 

    This way of notetaking adds a fun and interactive aspect to virtual events or VIP brainstorming sessions, which makes them more exciting and easier to remember for everyone involved.

    What is Graphic Recording?

    Virtual graphic recording is the process of creating real-time graphic summaries. 

    It’s also known as scribing, visual notes, graphic capture, or graphic facilitation, and it’s a helpful visual aid for people to understand complex concepts better.

    Create an engaging graphic recording experience, sharing brilliant ideas with hand-drawn visuals and compelling digital image. 

    Our expert team at We & Goliath is hired to draw speaker lectures, workshops, summits, meetings, online conferences, panels, and other similar engagements. Contact us if you want to learn more. 

    Easy starting packages • Advanced options • Proven results

    5 Types of Live Visual Notetaking

    There are countless ways to complete visual notetaking. Each has its unique benefits.

    1. Online Whiteboards

    someone is writing on a white board with a marker and a pen in front of it that is written on a white board

    Whiteboards are an incredibly versatile tool for visual notetaking. Whether in a physical or virtual setting, whiteboards offer the perfect canvas to draw out your ideas. 

    They provide a great way to capture and convey information, even during online meetings or remote events.

    2. Mind Maps

    a diagram of the mind map with arrows pointing to different areas of the mind and the words mind map

    Mind maps are a great way to visualize and organize notes. They offer an alternative approach to traditional notetaking, helping people easily break down complex ideas into more digestible chunks. 

    It offers an intuitive format for mapping relationships and hierarchy to understand a subject better. 

    Their roots are in brainstorming, but today, mind maps are widely used for different activities, such as studying, planning projects, or writing essays.

     

    3. Flowcharts

    a flowchart made of shapes

    Flowcharts are useful visual tools to effectively communicate the sequence of steps or actions necessary to reach a desired outcome. 

    By presenting this information graphically, it helps to organize complex data sets in an easy-to-understand manner. 

    It can be used for workflows, decision-making, navigating complex systems, and program development diagrams. 

    4. Thinking Maps

    a close up of a light bulb with a bunch of notes on it and a bunch of other notes

    Thinking maps provide a distinct learning method by aiding in identifying and visualizing ideas. These visual-verbal learning tools create tangible images for abstract thoughts, making comprehension easier.

    This approach assists in breaking down complex information into manageable sections, enabling virtual event attendees to recognize correlations between concepts. 

    Furthermore, thinking maps coherently organize ideas and knowledge, enabling meaningful learning.

     

     

    5. Concept Maps

    a creative image of a concept map

    If you’re trying to understand complex topics, concept maps can be really helpful. They show how different ideas relate to each other using shapes and arrows. 

    The main idea is in the middle, and related ideas are in circles around it. The arrows show how everything is connected and have short descriptions to explain the relationships. 

    You can use concept maps to take notes or to help you learn.

    Grab the Audience's Attention and Increase Engagement

    Live visual notetaking keeps your attendee’s attention at events. 

    It adds an interactive element that allows attendees to better engage and follow along with event content while creating easy access for quick review later.

    This visual communication translates ideas from speakers into colorful visuals that capture key points and provide easy access for taking notes throughout the event. 

    Need help figuring out where to begin? Contact We & Goliath for a free event strategy session. We can discuss incorporating live visual notetaking and the latest event technology for your next conference. 

    Ready to Take Your Next Event to the Next Level?

    We & Goliath can assist with impactful visual notetaking, email marketing, postcard marketing, retargeting ads, social media contests, virtual event production, strategic promotional partnerships, and so much more.

    We know the odds against success – and how to overcome them!

    We combine smart strategy and beautiful designs with expert marketing and innovative technology to create virtual experiences that are enjoyed and remembered.

    Whatever your goal – increased ROI, enhanced collaboration and audience engagement, education, fundraising – count on We & Goliath to create an event that will achieve it.

    Don’t wait. Let’s partner together for your next successful virtual event.

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