bikablo® radio - The Visual Facilitation Podcast

I think I have to confess something to you guys. April this year I recorded an amazing podcast with John Hibble about his venture, The Facilitation Starter. John Hibble is an experienced facilitator with more than 10 years in the field. After I recorded this podcast in April my life became quite busy as I started building a house in May and had a newborn baby in July. That is the reason why this podcast stayed on my hard drive for quite a while. Now it’s time to unveil this great conversation about workshop preparation from the session designed over delivering a workshop to how you capture insights. Over the last month things have changed slightly. I’m very happy to announce that John is also now a certified bikablo® trainer like Martin and I, and together we run as the Visual Friends bikablo® trainings in Australia and New Zealand. If you would like to say hello to John, please add him on LinkedIn or just come to one of the next trainings. We just finished the scheduling for the trainings in Q1 2018. We run the trainings as normal in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. We are also back in Perth and Auckland and hope that we get a training running in Hobart at the beginning of the year. Now let’s do the time travel and go back to April and listen to John Hibble from the Visual Friends. The post John Hibble about how to become an awesome facilitator appeared first on Visual Friends.

Martin grew up and lived most of his life in Sydney. He has a strong background in IT and worked in several technical roles before he moved into team coaching. Martin’s bikablo® story is very similar to mine. Using visual facilitation has changed both of our lives and careers. For Martin using visual facilitation was a turning point where he decided to focus more on facilitating workshops and coaching teams than dealing with technology. He started with preparing posters for workshops before he captured his first live conversation. Through that he made his way into graphic recording. Today he is not only an outstanding great graphic recorder but also one of our two new certified bikablo® visualisation trainers and partners in Sydney. Please welcome Martin Ruckert of the Visual Friends in Sydney. The post Pivot your career and become a visual thinker appeared first on Visual Friends.

Antonio Meza is born in Mexico and have been drawing and sketching his whole live. He started his career as a cartoonist animating stick figures between 2 key frames across the screen. He moved to Paris where he studied communication science and became a trainer and coach for neurolinguistic programming (NLP). In the first part Antonio introduces you into NLP and the science behind  language patterns, body language and our eye movements. We clarify misunderstandings about NLP and talk about coaching contracts and the right coaching setting in general. Antonio experience in coaching made him the perfect match to illustrate a book about success factor modelling which turned into the illustration of three books around the subject. We talk about graphic recording using digital tools like iPad and ask the million dollar question about his favourite iPad app for graphic recording on an iPad. From here we give an introduction into symbolic thinking which we have decided to split the podcast into an extra episode about symbolic thinking.

This is the second part of the interview with Antonio Meza. In the first part we talk about Antonio’s life story and his career as an NLP (neurolingoistic programming) trainer and coach. We looked at the combination of NLP and graphic facilitation and how to record sessions using an iPad. In the second part Antonio gives you an introduction into symbolic thinking. Everyone uses symbolic thinking and we don’t have to learn it. For example a person with hanging shoulders and a sad face would be seen as not resourceful while a person on top of the mountain in superman posture would be seen as very energetic. Here it doesn’t matter whether it is a real person or a stick figure drawing. Symbolic thinking describes the process of creating an internal representation of a situation, scene or thought. We use all of our senses to imagine a situation and create our own internal representation. Every person is different so that everyone creates his own emotional reaction about the scene. Understanding the concepts of symbolic thinking makes you a better graphic recorder as you can use those metaphors to tell more engaging stories even about the most boring topics. Just ask what the topic means for the people in your story and find the right metaphor.

This is the second part of the interview with Antonio Meza. In the first part we talk about Antonio’s life story and his career as an NLP (neurolinguistic programming) trainer and coach. We looked at the combination of NLP and graphic facilitation and how to record sessions using an iPad. In the second part Antonio gives you an introduction into symbolic thinking. Everyone uses symbolic thinking and we don’t have to learn it. For example a person with hanging shoulders and a sad face would be seen as not resourceful while a person on top of the mountain in superman posture would be seen as very energetic. Here it doesn’t matter whether it is a real person or a stick figure drawing. Symbolic thinking describes the process of creating an internal representation of a situation, scene or thought. We use all of our senses to imagine a situation and create our own internal representation. Every person is different so that everyone creates his own emotional reaction about the scene. Understanding the concepts of symbolic thinking makes you a better graphic recorder as you can use those metaphors to tell more engaging stories even about the most boring topics. Just ask what the topic means for the people in your story and find the right metaphor. The post Introduction into Symbolic Thinking (Part 2/2) appeared first on Visual Friends.

Antonio Meza is born in Mexico and have been drawing and sketching his whole live. He started his career as a cartoonist animating stick figures between 2 key frames across the screen. He moved to Paris where he studied communication science and became a trainer and coach for neurolingoistic programming (NLP). In the first part Antonio introduces you into NLP and the science behind language patterns, body language and our eye movements. We clarify misunderstandings about NLP and talk about coaching contracts and the right coaching setting in general. Antonio experience in coaching made him the perfect match to illustrate a book about success factor modelling which turned into the illustration of three books around the subject. We talk about graphic recording using digital tools like iPad and ask the million dollar question about his favourite iPad app for graphic recording on an iPad. From here we give an introduction into symbolic thinking which we have decided to split the podcast into an extra episode about symbolic thinking. The post Combination of Graphic Facilitation with NLP (Part 1/2) appeared first on Visual Friends.

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to speak to Jim Benson in Melbourne. We met in a hotel restaurant and talked about why visualisation of invisible knowledge work is so powerful and why it can increase the happiness of you and your co-workers: We start with giving you an introduction into Personal Kanban and help you to create your own Personal Kanban board. We explore why limiting the work in progress is so powerful and what might happen when you take on to much work at the same time. Jim shares his favourite stories about “visualisation of work” from places like a hospital in Kenya to a family who uses Personal Kanban to organise the treatment plan of their elderly father. We talk about why managing workload is so hard and what we can do about it to stay focused. We finish with a deep dive into the psychology of happiness and why visualisation in companies can help you to stay focused and become a happy team mate.

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to speak to Jim Benson in Melbourne. We met in a hotel restaurant and talked about why visualisation of invisible knowledge work is so powerful and why it can increase the happiness of you and your co-workers: We start with giving you an introduction into Personal Kanban and help you to create your own Personal Kanban board. We explore why limiting the work in progress is so powerful and what might happen when you take on to much work at the same time. Jim shares his favourite stories about “visualisation of work” from places like a hospital in Kenya to a family who uses Personal Kanban to organise the treatment plan of their elderly father. We talk about why managing workload is so hard and what we can do about it to stay focused. We finish with a deep dive into the psychology of happiness and why visualisation in companies can help you to stay focused and become a happy team mate. The post Visualise your work and increase your happiness appeared first on Visual Friends.

Carola Keitel and Frank Wesseler are an amazing team. They met through the bikablo® Akademie in Cologne and became a couple. Carola always had the idea of travelling the US and maybe working there one day. So when she met Frank they put their energy together as a couple and made it possible. For me this is an amazing story where you can see what a couple can do when they combine their strength and make things happen. In the interview we talk about it in detail. How it all started with a vague idea. How the things then came together and have a look at their travel plan. After the IFVP conference in Decatur they travel from the east coast to the west coast and run 7 trainings in 10 weeks. It is an exciting trip from the east to the west and I can’t wait to introduce to you now Carola and Frank from the bikablo® Akademie in Cologne. Have a look at their travel plan: Decatur, Georgia – June 20-23 – at IFVP conference Atlanta, Georgia – June 26-27 – hosted by Jenny Trautman of samepagepeople.com Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – July 11-12 – hosted by Amanda Lyons of visualsforchange.com Washington D.C., – July 21-22 – hosted by Stephanie Brown (SOLD OUT!!) New York City, New York – July 25-26 – hosted by Jill Greenbaum of ilistenidraw.com Chicago, Illinois – Aug. 7-8 – hosted by Brandy Agerbeck of Loosetooth.com Fort Collins, Colorado – Aug. 15-16 – hosted by Karina Mullen Branson of conversketch.com San Francisco, California – Aug. 24-25 – hosted by The Grove Consultants International

Carola and Frank are an amazing team. They met through the bikablo® Akademie in Cologne and became a couple. Carola always had the idea of travelling the US and maybe working there one day. So when she met Frank they put their energy together as a couple and made it possible. For me this is an amazing story where you can see what a couple can do when they combine their strength and make things happen. In the interview we talk about it in detail. How it all started with a vague idea. How the things then came together and have a look at their travel plan. After the IFVP conference in Decatur they travel from the east coast to the west coast and run 7 trainings in 10 weeks. It is an exciting trip from the east to the west and I can’t wait to introduce to you now Carola and Frank from the bikablo® Akademie in Cologne. Have a look at their travel plan: • Decatur, Georgia – June 20-23 – at IFVP conference • Atlanta, Georgia – June 26-27 – hosted by Jenny Trautman of samepagepeople.com • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – July 11-12 – hosted by Amanda Lyons of visualsforchange.com • Washington D.C., – July 21-22 – hosted by Stephanie Brown (SOLD OUT!!) • New York City, New York – July 25-26 – hosted by Jill Greenbaum of ilistenidraw.com • Chicago, Illinois – Aug. 7-8 – hosted by Brandy Agerbeck of Loosetooth.com • Fort Collins, Colorado – Aug. 15-16 – hosted by Karina Mullen Branson of conversketch.com • San Francisco, California – Aug. 24-25 – hosted by The Grove Consultants International The post Welcome to the bikablo® USA Tour 2017 appeared first on Visual Friends.

Jaya Machet has seen the world: She grew up in Mumbai, India and moved with her family to Switzerland when she was a teenager. She studied German and French before she joined Nokia Treasury in Geneva. More than 10 years ago she decided to move back to Asia and picked Singapore as her new home. After all Jaya describes Singapore as the “the Switzerland of Asia”. Through her work at Nokia she got excited about executive coaching and graduated with a Masters of Counselling from the Monash University in 2010. She runs her own full time coaching business and recently discovered bikablo® and Neuland and added it to her portfolio. Today she is the local distributor for Neuland® facilitation gear in Singapore under the venture “All Lined Up.biz”. Jaya introduces you to the topic of executive coaching. She explains what coaching is and isn’t by comparing it to deeper interventions like counselling and therapy. We introduce different coaching approaches and how they might be a fit for you. Jaya offers deep insights into executive coaching: Starting with the coaching contract and defining the objectives before we move on to practical tips & tricks you can use as a coach. We have a look at how bikablo® helps you to become a better coach and look into the future what bikablo® in Singapore might bring to the world going forward. I have enjoyed the interview and the first bikablo® training in Singapore and look forward to be back for the next bikablo® training in September. Last but not least, if you live in USA, please check out our USA tour this summer.     

Jaya Machet has seen the world: She grew up in Mumbai, India and moved with her family to Switzerland when she was a teenager. She studied German and French before she joined Nokia Treasury in Geneva. More than 10 years ago she decided to move back to Asia and picked Singapore as her new home. After all Jaya describes Singapore as the “the Switzerland of Asia”. Through her work at Nokia she got excited about executive coaching and graduated with a Masters of Counselling from the Monash University in 2010. She runs her own full time coaching business and recently discovered bikablo® and Neuland and added it to her portfolio. Today she is the local distributor for Neuland® facilitation gear in Singapore under the venture “All Lined Up.biz”. Jaya introduces you to the topic of executive coaching. She explains what coaching is and isn’t by comparing it to deeper interventions like counselling and therapy. We introduce different coaching approaches and how they might be a fit for you. Jaya offers deep insights into executive coaching: Starting with the coaching contract and defining the objectives before we move on to practical tips & tricks you can use as a coach. We have a look at how bikablo® helps you to become a better coach and look into the future what bikablo® in Singapore might bring to the world going forward. I have enjoyed the interview and the first bikablo® training in Singapore and look forward to be back for the next bikablo® training in September. Last but not least, if you live in USA, please check out our USA tour this summer. The post Introduction into Executive Coaching appeared first on Visual Friends.

Todays guest is Matthew Magain from sketchvideos.com.au. Matthew is a good friend of mine and I’ve been following his journey for quite a while. After Matthew gives us a bit of background of where he came from and how he started with sketch noting as a teacher in Japan we talk about sketch note videos in detail. A lot of my students ask: “How can I create my own sketch note video” and I am very happy that Matthew opens his big draw of tricks and tips to share his insights with you. We talk about your first setup and what is essential for a high quality recording. What the pre-production looks like and what steps you can take in the post-production to spice it up. We give an overview about digital tools on an iPad and what outcome you can expect from those tools. After listening to the podcast you should have a good idea about how you can get started with your own sketch note video. Please enjoy the interview with Matthew Magain from sketchvideos.com.au.

Todays guest is Matthew Magain from sketchvideos.com.au. Matthew was one of the first friends in Australia and I follow his journey for quite a while. After Matthew gives us a bit of background of where he came from and how he had started with sketch notes as a teacher in Japan we talk about sketch note videos in detail. A lot of my students ask: “How can I create my own sketch note video” and I am very happy that Matthew opens his big draw of tricks and tips and shares his insights with you. We talk about your first setup and what is essential for a high quality recording. What the pre-production looks like and what steps you can take in the post-production to spice it up. We give an overview about digital tools on an iPad and what outcome you can expect from those tools. After listening to the podcast you should have a good idea about how you can get started with your own sketch note video. Please enjoy the interview with Matthew Magain from sketchvideos.com.au.

Today’s guest is Matthew Magain, founder and chief doodler of sketchvideos.com.au. A lot of my students ask: “How can I create my own sketch video” and I am very happy that Matthew opens his big draw of tricks and tips to share his insights with you. After Matthew gives us a bit of background about how he started with sketchnoting as a teacher in Japan we talk about sketch videos in detail. We talk about your first setup and what is essential for a high quality recording. What the pre-production looks like and what steps you can take in the post-production to spice it up. We give an overview about digital tools on an iPad and what outcome you can expect from those tools. After listening to the podcast you should have a good idea about how you can get started with your own sketch video. Please enjoy the interview with Matthew Magain from sketchvideos.com.au. The post How to create your own sketchnote video? appeared first on Visual Friends.

Today I talk to Nick Coster. Nick founded Brainmates together with his wife Adrienne Tan more then 12 year ago. Brainmates is one of those companies who are not very big but very professional. Their special field is product management. We talk about the evolution of product management. How the role of product management evolves when the organisation scales up and the CEO can’t be the product manager anymore. Nick describes the role of a product manager as the chief storyteller in a company. The product manager is the CEO for a product but normally doesn’t have the same authority as the CEO. He needs to take everyone on the journey and explain the challenges ahead of the product. Storytelling is the key to this way of leadership and visual storytelling is the lasting version of it as you can capture the visualisation of the story in photos and videos. Therefore I am very excited to announce that we will run the bikablo® Visual Storytelling class in Australia shortly before Christmas. Many of my bikablo® visual facilitation students are in a role around requirements gathering or are working in a business analyst role. In this interview I put myself in the role of a business analyst and ask myself how could I become a great product manager. What does it take to become that person and what do I have to learn on the way. Being on the product management journey alone can be quite challenging. It’s much better to go the way together and catch up with mates who are in a similar role as you. I would like to highlight the “Leading the Product Conference” run by Brainmates every year. The conference will be held this year on the 20th October in Melbourne and 25th in Sydney. Check it out and I hope to see you around in one of the next bikablo® visualisation trainings.

Today I talk to Nick Coster. Nick founded Brainmates together with his wife Adrienne Tan more then 12 year ago. Brainmates is one of those companies who are not very big but very professional. Their special field is product management. We talk about the evolution of product management. How the role of product management evolves when the organisation scales up and the CEO can’t be the product manager anymore. Nick describes the role of a product manager as the chief storyteller in a company. The product manager is the CEO for a product but normally doesn’t have the same authority as the CEO. He needs to take everyone on the journey and explain the challenges ahead of the product. Storytelling is the key to this way of leadership and visual storytelling is the lasting version of it as you can capture the visualisation of the story in photos and videos. Therefore I am very excited to announce that we will run the bikablo® Visual Storytelling class in Australia shortly before Christmas. Many of my bikablo® visual facilitation students are in a role around requirements gathering or are working in a business analyst role. In this interview I put myself in the role of a business analyst and ask myself how could I become a great product manager. What does it take to become that person and what do I have to learn on the way. Being on the product management journey alone can be quite challenging. It’s much better to go the way together and catch up with mates who are in a similar role as you. I would like to highlight the “Leading the Product Conference” run by Brainmates every year. The conference will be held this year on the 20th October in Melbourne and 25th in Sydney. Check it out and I hope to see you around in one of the next bikablo® visualisation trainings. The post The Evolution of Product Management with Nick Coster from Brainmates appeared first on Visual Friends.

Today I have the honour to bring to you Natalie Nelson. Natalie is the principal at Ashburton primary school. Her school never received much money since the 1920’s and were therefore entitled for a redevelopment. Natalie’s school received a big cheque which enabled her to bring the school to the next level of education. Natalie tells her story of how she started on a journey to transform the school to a place of future education. Her approach is quite different to many others. She calls it design from the inside out. I give you an example what that means: After coming up with key principles what school should be about, they asked the children to create their new future school. You will learn why Ashburton primary has floor to ceiling windows or different learning areas for different students. We talk about what it means to grow up in our complex world of today. What skills the kids need to learn which (by the way) are far beyond reading, writing and maths. Kids today need to learn how to keep their energy level in balance, how they can relax their mind and how to deal with complex problems in general. Those skills become much more valuable in the future. Today’s schools focus on deep thinking techniques because it is necessary for real creative work. You can outsource the process of writing but you can’t outsource the creativity. Through that we talk about the three levels of thinking and how to get down to the core thinking where the creative magic happens. I think we all can do something about the future of our kid’s in the way they learn and even further in the way we all work together in our modern world. The insights from Ashburton primary school are not limited to school education at all, they are applicable to the way we work together in our offices as well. So while you listen to this podcast think about who else would be inspired by the story and pass the ball on so that more people get in contact with the future of education. I hope you enjoy this episode with Natalie Nelson, principle at Ashburton primary school. Finally, if the interview inspired you to improve your own creativity and visual thinking skills then you are welcome to come around to one of the bikablo® trainings. If you are in Europe jump over on bikablo.com and when you are in Australia or New Zealand have a look in the training section of my website and check out the training program there. Next one is coming up in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and depending on when you book there might still be an early bird available. So jump over onto the website and book your next career step as a visual leader. Thanks again for listening – See you next time.

Today I have the honour to bring to you Natalie Nelson. Natalie is the principal at Ashburton primary school. Natalie tells her story of how she started on a journey to transform the school to a place of future education. Her approach is quite different to many others. She calls it design from the inside out. We talk about what it means to grow up in our complex world of today. What skills the kids need to learn which (by the way) are far beyond reading, writing and maths. The post bikablo® Radio – Natalie Nelson about the Future of Education appeared first on Visual Friends.

Today I have the honour to have Patrick Sharbaugh with me. Patrick works for the LUMA institute, a training provider that enables companies and individuals to be more creative. He teaches design thinking and in this interview he gives us an introduction into the world of design thinking. We talk about creative problem solving, visual languages and what it means to have the customer in the centre of your solution design. But first of all, let me introduce to you Patrick. Patrick grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. He worked in Japan for a while and moved on to Vietnam where he worked in Saigon. In Saigon he got in contact with the RMIT University and through that found his way to Australia. He works today in America as well as Australia as a trainer for Design Thinking, runs a Meet-up in the Melbourne CBD and is a great guy to meet everyday. We give you a step-by-step introduction into design thinking while we help Henry Ford to build a better car and explore why the Apple iPod 1 was important but not great. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Patrick Sharbaugh from the LUMA Institute!