On May 20th, 2018 I worked a San Diego graphic recording event for a PALs United For Lung Health Roundtable. PALs United (Patient Advocacy Leaders) hosted the event. The title of the event was: Collaborating To Raise The Profile of Lung Disease and Advance Better Patient-Centered Solutions.
This San Diego graphic recording event built upon the engagement previously started at the inaugural PALs United for Lung Health event held in Washington DC in October of 2017. Lung health advocacy and policy leaders we’re gathered in the room to discuss how to raise the profile of lung disease and advance patient-centered care. A large focus was on ensuring that the ideas that were discussed were prioritized to enable collaboration for maximum impact and action.
The event was 2 hours long and full of ideas and discussion. I created the majority of the content the day of the event but also did some pre-planning. The director, Anne Easter, and I worked together to ensure that we were on the same page when it came to the overall look and content of the graphic.
This PALs event began with a short welcome where everyone was recognized as heroes! I thought this was a fitting frame and invitation to all that were present in the room. It was clear that there were many change-makers present!
The Welcome portion was followed by 2 45-minute conversations. One conversation focused on raising the profile of lung disease. The other focused on ideas for advancing patient-centered care.
Finally, there was a 20-minute report out where each group was challenged to choose 2 top priorities to take action on for the subject areas they discussed.
Pre-Planning the Graphic Recording Image
I pre-planned the basic look and feel of the graphic prior to the event. While the discussion is happening, this allows you to focus more on the content. Typically, shorter roundtable events and sessions are concentrated with lots of important information. Group discussions yield many ideas from many people and perspectives. This great event with PALs United was no different.
I find it a good idea to pre-plan some elements of the graphic. This ensures that the final image can be created for quicker turnaround and sharing on social media. Without this preparation, the attendees for these sessions don’t have a large enough ‘slice’ of the finished work. It’s wise to consider that roundtables can involve a bit of information processing and organization. Keeping the engagement active in the space is important. I find it’s usually good to do some homework before graphic recording the shorter, but information-packed, events.
If you have an upcoming event and are thinking about hiring a graphic recorder to capture the big ideas, you may want to consider how much pre-planning would help you get the graphic you desire.
Working With Me, Nick Navatta
I enjoy working with events like the PALs roundtable because they are events where real change is happening. Supporting that change and doing it with full commitment is very fulfilling. If you have an upcoming event like this, consider reaching out to start a conversation.
You can contact me for more information on booking my graphic recording services for your event.
Thank you for reading,
Nick Navatta