As a graphic recorder or facilitator, how do you "Listen for Diversity"?

Many of us are working in specialized fields. It’s not one size fits all.

Now for the first time, you can read expert advice about Listening for Diversity from over 20 visual practitioners.

Image by lindsey roffe, ink factory

As visual practice expands, it's an exciting time for us to share techniques about "Listening for Diversity" that work for practitioners, clients, and communities.

Thoughts and Tips from Experts in the Field

In order to represent diversity in ways that advance it, create change, equity & inclusion, we ourselves need to be able to see what we are not seeing... We must question our assumptions and seek to understand what things mean to others, what made them so, and what is really their impact as visual practitioners ...We all know that it's hard to understand what we can't see and our gift is to help folks see.

– Claudia Lopez

Image by Rosanna von Sacken

Shift[ing] my own frame of mind in order to listen is a conscious decision and effort, [as is] listening without judgment. Have the courage to ask what / how to draw something that is representative of a particular community. 

– Rosanna von Sacken

Image by tricia walker,

i. Listen for the level of social, economic or political/capital a group has or does not have or the barriers or gateways to that.

ii. Listen for the level of risk to self or social, economic, or political capital.

iii. Listen for levels of collaboration versus consensus. Often the dominant culture of communication will inadvertently exclude a group. A consensus is time-consuming.

iv. The concept of inclusion, exclusion, or integration might be confusing for some or appropriated by others.

v. What voices are not there often as a result of (i)?

vi. Listen to discussion (often participation), dialogue (people stating their idea), versus discourse (knowledge & community building).

– Bonnie Jeansonne

I'm a First Nations woman and visualizing diversity within First Nation groups includes listening to people to find key images that express the cultural backbone of each specific cultural group. Engagement throughout the graphic recording process is the best way to empower each group!I research the nation before I work with them in order to learn about their specific cultural practices. This may include speaking with people who are from the nation or looking at their websites, newsletters, blogs and other social media.

– Michelle Buchholz

I’ve found that the most helpful tip is not about a particular tactic or drawing technique – it’s about relationships. If I can build trust with the event organizers and participants before I start drawing anything, I’ll feel confident in trusting my own judgment about the right thing to do. And if I’m unsure, I’ll feel comfortable asking them for guidance, even right in the middle of the event.

– Sam Hester

I aim to be as neutral as possible when I’m listening to a discussion…. Participants need to see a diversity of perspectives in order to work through challenges and find solutions. There is also immense power in metaphor and pushing a group to think about their work in a new context. For example, choosing to use unique metaphors (even if the client is speaking in clichés), subtly helps to open the group’s mind to new ways of thinking about a topic… especially if they’ve only ever thought about it in one way. Or framing a strategic planning session around a theme or larger metaphor can help participants step outside their usual pattern of thinking, which in turn allows people to better hear and understand their peers.

– Tanya Gadsby

To visualize diversity in a meeting, I ask participants to describe attributes of a successfully diverse team that they have served on or participated in. I draw a group of diverse people on a flip chart and add the words they offer up. I refer to this diversity chart throughout the course of the meeting.

– Heather Martinez

Drawing diversity is a prickly, tricky subject for some recorders…I try to go for a light touch. It’s entirely possible to draw diverse people by making slight changes in the shapes of faces, noses, eyes and clothing. I try to avoid drawing “costumes” if that’s not what people wear in everyday life. I’ve also done a trick where I draw the country flag or country flag colors in the body of the person to [illustrate a] German or Chinese or French [person]. I think it’s good to be conscious of your visual biases when you draw.

– Deb Aoki

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When dealing with diversity issues, sometimes it's best to put the pen into the group's hands. Let them reflect on issues through facilitated exercises, drawing exercises, templates, etc. We're only one person in the room. Sometimes it's more powerful to let someone else draw.

– Sophia Liang

Let’s spread and integrate new terms in our visual vocabulary: symbols for different ways of reduced mobility, gender, colour…

– KSt

Be a lifelong story listener. When you meet people, listen to their story.When communicating diversity, do a reality check. Who are real people you have met and communicate their diversity.Blast stereotypes. Acknowledge their function as the top of the iceberg, but dive deeper into the nuances of people's actual experiences and lives. If the visual community could “Draw Change” then I wish them to draw the ugliness, and oppressive nature of stigma.

– Ana Vargas

When I worked with communities in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side on a potential redevelopment of the Woodward’s Building (which was then occupied by squatters), we engaged with many people marginalized by homelessness, poverty, addictions, and/or mental illness. In facilitation, we sought to respect their passions, their own vision for a better future, and to meet them where they were (literally and figuratively). Checking my own preconceptions, attitudes and biases was vital for me to be open and credible- they had to trust me enough to share their (often very private) aspirations so that I could capture their ideas visually.

– Drew Ferrari

Diversity is also about differences of ideas and perspectives. Sam Kaner’s approach to “balancing” ideas (which is, including and encouraging diversity of opinions) is a way to show diversity on the chart.

– Brian Tarallo

We have done a lot of work with people with dementia. Representing their voices and actual words on the map is so important, to change perceptions. Their carers too, as they are often invisible.

– Fran O’Hara

Graphic Recorders Liz Etmanski and Aaron Johannes

Is there a better way for everyone to be heard? I think it’s a really good idea for us to have our own conversations drawn by someone else.

– Aaron Johannes

When I am given the honour of capturing a sensitive conversation or a cherished teaching in an Indigenous community,

and if I sense that there is discomfort around having a written document (as so often the written word has been used against people),

I often ask to have an Elder or someone else who is willing sit with me and just give me the nod or the head shake or even work more interactively with me

and I will draw in pencil so that we both know we can experiment or play and then erase if we don’t like it.

– Colleen Stevenson

I scan the room looking for cues, but so many of them are not visible initially. I am thinking particularly about non-visible disabilities such as deafness or autism. I should also say I’m very anxious about representing various groups (especially racial) since I don’t want to stereotype or ‘get it wrong’ — which is something I’m working to overcome.

– Alison

I ask the participants to come to me during the breaks and tell me what they feel should be added. I also do speech bubbles to note down different points of view. I note down also fun moments/random comments – this works amazingly well for the participants to feel connected to the recording. I also try to create a complex picture that makes sense as a whole (e.g. road to somewhere, a scene, a street in the city with different buildings around), but it always has to be connected with what is being spoken about.

– Bea Broskova

I want to reflect the people in the room, so I try to look at the actual people present, and draw who I see.

It has also helped me to study photos online of different ethnic groups, to practice learning ways to draw different types of people quickly, but in a manner that is (I hope) respectful.

When I introduce myself, I let people know anything I write or draw can be changed. I encourage people to let me know if they feel mis-heard or mis-represented by anything on the chart, and to tell me in the moment or on a break and I will change it.

– Emily Shepard

One big AHA moment I’ve had is to acknowledge the “white space”…the space where people didn’t have ideas, or realized more thought was needed. One particular event comes to mind. At the end of one session, there was the dreaded “vacuum of white space” that I didn’t know how to fill. The truth was that the group didn’t have as many ideas of HOW to execute their vision as they did on WHAT was their vision. So I put dashed lines around it, and labelled it “more discussion needed on how to build the archive”. It was actually really effective, especially when compared to other graphics of the day, which were full of diverse ideas and concepts.

– Yolanda Liman

How we present images on a page says everything about who WE are, how we see the world, and how we instantiate the biases, dominant points of view, and commonly-held reference points in our work. It's a subjective business – and our subjectivity is both our Achilles heel as well as our calling card. It all depends on how we interrogate it, play with it, and use it to help groups and teams see their conversation. My suggestions are not prescriptive, but rather, born out of inquiry. Do we have a role in "signal boosting" voices that are not usually heard? Do we have a role in saying directly to groups: "These are the voices I'm hearing...but what other voices need to be heard here?" What might we offer by embracing the role of "artist" and see the world differently, in contrast to the time-honored tradition of "capturing" only what is heard?

– Anthony Weeks 

Graphic facilitation is a powerful tool to support cross-cultural work. Visuals can support us - and visuals can harm, too.I know I’m going to make mistakes - I’m always learning. Instead of avoiding mistakes, or being triggered when I make mistakes - I try and find ways to understand how I made that mistake and be accountable afterwards. And it’s a great feeling when a group is comfortable with me enough to point out my mistakes and gently tease me about them, actually.

– Sam Bradd

These graphic recordings were drawn live, during a large group discussion at the Listening for Diversity workshop.

This was held at the 2017 International Forum of Visual Practitioners conference.

The tips were gathered in writing from the field in 2017.

For an extended version of this article, visit drawingchange.com.

With heartfelt thanks to the folks who took the time to share their thoughts and tips with the field!

~ SAM

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