Matt Handley
Primary school teacher and now a part-time graphic scribe
Primary school teacher and now a part-time graphic scribe
Anyone can learn visualisation. Once you learn basic icons, fill your page and get a grasp on shading, the world is your oyster.
Matt loves his work. “I’ve always been creative and being a primary school teacher provides a creative outlet.”
Now that Matt knows bikablo®, his work has become even more interesting. And not just for Matt but also for his colleagues.
Like many of our students, Matt saw bikablo® in action when someone was scribing at a meeting. Matt always enjoyed taking notes, but this seemed to be next level. Curious, he began researching visualisation skills and came across Visual Friends.
“I saw what people can do, it’s quite inspiring. I thought it would be great to take my knowledge to the next level.”
With the support of his principal, who understood the great benefit of bringing such applicable skill to the school, Matt enrolled in bikablo® fundamentals training.
Teachers can be fussy students, but he found the course really useful. “It was hands on from the word go which is the best way to learn. I learnt to use the space in a smart way and it gave me confidence to work through a page.”
As a teacher, Matt also appreciated the research behind visualisation. “It engages all areas of a learner.” What also appealed was how easy it was to learn this skill and how much you could achieve once you understood the basic principles.
“It’s not that complicated. Once you learn basic icons, fill your page and get a grasp on shading, the world is your oyster. You can then go on and develop your own style.”
Writing as a Social Process
Matt Handley
Matt feels that’s an important part of learning visualisation or any other subject for that matter – to build on your skills and develop your way of doing things.
“I think the key is to be flexible and just draw things that stand out to you. It’s about making it your own, whether it’s using your own font or your favourite picture. It doesn’t have to be perfect. And of course, the more you practice, the better you get.”
That’s exactly what Matt has been doing.
Since completing the course, he has been giving back to his workplace, creating posters, helping with presentations and meetings. Matt’s three-meter canvas describing school’s self-improvement project journey was displayed at the school library and generated some interesting discussions.
“People have been looking at it and talking about it. Some say they wouldn’t be able to do something like that, but I assure them that with a bit of practice everyone can do it.”
Following his original interest, Matt also took his notetaking to the next level and tried live scribing at school events.
“It was stressful, but it also taught me to focus on the main points instead of trying to capture every word. Those key points are the ones that will trigger people’s memories and will facilitate the conversation.”
Matt is pleased with the feedback he’s received so far. “People comment on how easy it is to read and follow two hours worth of talking on one page.”
Journey of Learning – Matt Handley
The skills Matt has leant with Visual Friends are definitely making a difference at his workplace. Visualisation is now seeping in the way the school does things.
“In terms of transcribing and professional development, it’s been more than beneficial for our staff and school. Our principal is pleased with how it has turned out.”
Matt is pretty happy too. He has developed a long-term interest in visualisation and added a unique skill to his toolbox that will have a positive effect on his career.
“It’s definitely something I see myself using in the future, wherever my career takes me. It’s a great tool you can share with others.”
P.S. Since we’ve interviewed Matt, he has started his own business working as a graphic scribe in his spare time. You can find him on instagram @_highlyvisual.
The article was written by Natalia Tsygankova. Natalia has always loved words and talking to people. She has put that passion to good use and has been sharing people’s stories in the community radio, TV and print media for the last 10 years. Natalia is also a big fan of true storytelling events and regularly volunteers at the most famous one – The Moth, interviewing the winner. You can hear her own story of moving to Australia from Russia in 1999 here. Natalia believes that everyone has a story – So what’s yours? Contact her today to share your story.
Visual Friends Trainer, Agile Coach, Bikablo® Global Trainer, Project Management Coach and Mentor from Sydney
Bikablo® was the glue that was needed to pull all these different parts of my working life together – drawing, facilitation, teaching, coaching and working with new people. Four months before Marc taught his first Bikablo® class, he wasn’t aware Bikablo® existed. Back then he was an experienced Project/Program Manager who was seeking a new career direction without much clarity. Bikablo® changed all that.
Today Marc is a proud and excited certified Bikablo® Visualisation Practitioner who simply can’t believe he gets paid to do what he loves. Bikablo® has revitalised his career and brought him back to what always made him happy – drawing.
Coming from a creative family, Marc had a talent for drawing but his career took him elsewhere. He missed it. Receiving a late relatives watercolour set as a gift from his mother reconnected him with his passion. “I started drawing again in my spare time. I’d take this little watercolour set with me when I travelled and made sketches.”
Watercolor Painting
Marc Hundleby
Marc’s roles within Project Management were not creative enough and he tried to incorporate sketches in his work. For the last few years; he’d pepper his workshops, presentations and materials with figures and icons. At one point, he decided to create illustrations in his Agile training materials. It reminded him how much he enjoyed visualisation and highlighted the lack of balance in his role. “I liked the refreshing mindset and ways of working that Agile has brought to organisations but in Waterfall project delivery there was not as much room for fun and creativity.”
A client mentioned Bikablo® and Marc was curious. As soon as he saw the images of Bikablo® posters Marc felt a strong connection to the visualisation style. A course was coming up and he enrolled immediately.
“Something was really driving me towards it. It would have been very easy to say, “There’s too much going on, I’ll leave it for next year” and you miss an opportunity. But I believe that when your intuition is telling you something you need to go for it.”
Though Marc was a little sceptical. He could draw well already so did he really need to spend two days learning the Bikablo® technique?
The course exceeded Marc’s expectations. “It showed me the structure, gave me the confidence to draw in front of people, how to strip out unnecessary detail in my sketching. Essentially, the Bikablo® technique teaches you how to simplify drawing, its not about the drawing its about the insights. While it’s still visual, creative and a lot of fun it gives you the tools to put it all it together quickly and easily. Half way through my first day I was hooked. I felt; this is it! “
Bikablo® seemed to be exactly what Marc was looking for. “It was like the glue that was needed to pull all these different parts of my working life together – drawing, facilitation, teaching and meeting new people”.
The very next day after the course Marc was back at work putting the new skills to use in his workshops. The reaction was really positive, and the participants loved his work.
Marc knew he wanted to pursue visualisation as a new career. It was a case of lucky timing as Visual Friends was looking for new trainers. He was introduced to Marcel van Hove, the company’s co-founder, and asked to send some of this work and a visual answer to why he wanted to become a trainer. This plus a water colour sketch, Marc’s final poster from his Bikablo® class and his illustrations for the Agile training materials were sent and so began an anxious wait. In the meantime, Marc practiced like crazy and sketched daily.
Marc Hundleby
He didn’t need to worry. His passion for drawing, his talent, his excitement about Bikablo® made him a perfect fit for Visual Friends. Within weeks, Marc was at the company’s off site and helping out during a Bikablo® course. A training in Germany followed and finally his very first class as a Visual Facilitator.
I truly felt privileged to be delivering this wonderful course alongside Danny (Low) in March. There was so much joy in seeing the class pick up the technique so quickly and how thrilled they were to see the results at the end of the two days.
Marc couldn’t be happier. He feels that Visual Friends has allowed him to reinstate the balance in his working life. “Instead of an occasional drawing, I’m able to inject something that makes me and others happy into my every day.”
In addition to drawing and teaching, one of the most satisfying parts of the job for Marc is helping clients overcome fear and build their confidence. “It’s so interesting to see how people think they can’t do it. It’s really rewarding to see students improve and overcome their inner critics.”
Marc believes that being a Visualisation Trainer allows him to make a positive contribution to the corporate world and more. “I can influence my clients and in turn they can positively impact corporations. A lot of corporations out there are a bit sterile, and people spend so much time at work. If you could make people smile and contribute to a more engaging and fun workplace, they’ll be a lot happier at work, out of work and eventually you can see the potential to make the world a happier place.”
If you feel like sharing the passion for drawing with Marc, want to learn a unique new skill and enrich your life and career with Bikablo® visualisation technique, book the next Sydney Bikablo® course on 11-12 June here. Who knows where it could take you! No experience required.
The article was written by Natalia Tsygankova. Natalia has always loved words and talking to people. She has put that passion to good use and has been sharing people’s stories in the community radio, TV and print media for the last 10 years. Natalia is also a big fan of true storytelling events and regularly volunteers at the most famous one – The Moth, interviewing the winner. You can hear her own story of moving to Australia from Russia in 1999 here. Natalia believes that everyone has a story – So what’s yours? Contact her today to share your story.
Agile Coach and Trainer/Visual Facilitator/Extended DISC Consultant AGL Energy Visual Friends two-day course, October 2014
Christiane first saw Bikablo® when meeting Marcel through her daughter’s school. She was intrigued. At the time she was looking to add something else to her toolkit and Bikablo® seemed like a perfect fit. “I felt limited in my ability to communicate complex concepts, and I also didn’t feel like I was having a lot of fun in my role.” Christiane attended one of the first Bikablo® courses offered in Melbourne, back in 2014.
Not only did Christiane learn a new skill that allowed her to inject some fun into her every day work, the course changed the trajectory of her career, allowed her to meet some amazing people, be part of unique events and play a role in changing the company culture at her workplace.
Christiane’s biggest insight from the Visual Friends course was how easy it was to learn. “It’s a technique that anyone can pick up. If you can draw a stick, you can draw Bikablo®.”
“Visualisation helps break down communication barriers, removes ego and takes away a lot of tension and bias. It makes people really happy. Drawing and playing with colour reminds us how to be free, creative and unburdened, it helps us reconnect to ourselves and be present in the moment.”
Visual Friends training final poster
Christiane Anderson
She began to put her new skill to use immediately. Christiane would ask teams to allow her to visually record their meetings or capture retrospectives. Her hand drawn posters began to appear all over the office. “I got a lot of really positive feedback. People felt the drawings added a different dimension to what was being said and helped them remember the key messages. At first the leaders were concerned scribing would be distracting, but instead it helped people focus on what was communicated.
For the next four years, Christiane worked with Marcel van Hove, Visual Friends Co-founder, scribing for various conferences, breakfast events and even international speakers.”It gave me an opportunity to meet some amazing people and have access to events I would not have otherwise had access to.” A particular highlight was scribing for Barry O’Reilly, the author of Unlearn and Lean Enterprise. He used her drawings in his marketing and training materials.
Christiane also did lots of drawing at work and began to play a role of a visual coach helping teams with visual templates, metaphors and concepts.
Not only did Christiane learn a new skill that allowed her to inject some fun into her every day work, the course changed the trajectory of her career, allowed her to meet some amazing people, be part of unique events and play a role in changing the company culture at her workplace.
Christiane’s biggest insight from the Visual Friends course was how easy it was to learn. “It’s a technique that anyone can pick up. If you can draw a stick, you can draw Bikablo®.”
Barry O’Reilly in front of Christiane’s work
For the next four years, Christiane worked with Marcel van Hove, Visual Friends Co-founder, scribing for various conferences, breakfast events and even international speakers.”It gave me an opportunity to meet some amazing people and have access to events I would not have otherwise had access to.” A particular highlight was scribing for Barry O’Reilly, the author of Unlearn and Lean Enterprise. He used her drawings in his marketing and training materials.
Christiane also did lots of drawing at work and began to play a role of a visual coach helping teams with visual templates, metaphors and concepts.
Not only did Christiane learn a new skill that allowed her to inject some fun into her every day work, the course changed the trajectory of her career, allowed her to meet some amazing people, be part of unique events and play a role in changing the company culture at her workplace.
Christiane’s biggest insight from the Visual Friends course was how easy it was to learn. “It’s a technique that anyone can pick up. If you can draw a stick, you can draw Bikablo®.”
The article was written by Natalia Tsygankova. Natalia has always loved words and talking to people. She has put that passion to good use and has been sharing people’s stories in the community radio, TV and print media for the last 10 years. Natalia is also a big fan of true storytelling events and regularly volunteers at the most famous one – The Moth, interviewing the winner. You can hear her own story of moving to Australia from Russia in 1999 here. Natalia believes that everyone has a story – So what’s yours? Contact her today to share your story.
Founder of Sunni Brown Ink.
This is the second part of the interview with Sunni Brown record on the 18th of September 2018: In the first part of this episode, you learnt a lot about Sunnis Brown‘s life and her early years as an entrepreneur from strangling to make a living to be one of the top speaker and best-selling author in the field. We followed her journey step by step, from working for the Grove, one of the first visual thinking consultancies on the planet before she moved to Austin, Texas where she started her own business.
In the second episode, We find out more about her work as an author and why riding a dragon and writing a book is a similar challenge. We talk about the serendipity that she got invited to TED2011 and how she prepared 4 months for the 6 minutes that has inspired more than 1.4 million people.
We compare the skill of graphic recording with sketch noting, do a “quickly ask round” and brainstorm together about the upcoming keynote at VizConf 2018.
We hear about her experience at TED, her keynote at VizConf 2018 and her work on the upcoming book DEEP SELF DESIGN™ that helps you to reach your goals in life.
Enjoy!
Marcel combines agile team coaching with visual thinking. Marcel believes that a group of people drawing together on a whiteboard can change the world. He loves high-performing teams and therefore coaches teams every day.