To learn about storytelling
To understand the importance of visualization in presentation
To learn about online visualization tools
To learn about storytelling structure.
To learn preparing infographics for lengthy texts.

When to use it?

While learning about visual storytelling and
presentation.

Materials:

Flipchart, color pencils, news articles or reports, projector

Preparation:

Read the info box about visual storytelling and Infographics.
Find interesting reports/articles from magazines for each group.
Alternatively ask them to find one on the internet.
Open infographics examples from the link in the appendix.

Presentation:

Ask the participants from which sources they read news reports and which format (video news; – 5 min.
Ask them what they know about infographics. Explain what infographics are, which elements are made of, why/how they are used to tell complex stories and show examples – 10 to 15 min.
Divide the participants in groups of two to three. Then hand them out one flipchart, color pens and one report/article to read first.
Ask each group to draw infographic version of the story by drawing figures and using only one sentence for each figure; 25 min.
In the end each group has to present in 3 to 5 min. their infographics.
Invite classroom to give feedback on each infographics. Focus not on the aesthetic of the infographics, but on how relevantly and clearly it was converted into infographics. – 15 min.

Follow up questions:

Which format of information would you prefer while reading? Infographic or traditional reporting?

Possible Variations:

Alternative 1: Instead of news reports, you can also use CVs and business proposals.

Alternative 2: You can ask students to bring their laptops/tablets and design their infographics by using one of the online infographic tools, which are listed in the resource part.

To understand the importance of visualization in presentation
To learn about reflective planning through visual storytelling

When to use it?

Use this when you want a fast, energizing, and visual method for quickly reflecting on life stories/backgrounds of the participants, or use it to surface compelling stories from their history that they might otherwise never have thought of.

Materials:

Blank copier or printer paper for each participant.
If you have plenty of table space, flip chart pages are even better. If space is an issue, some participants may be willing to take off their shoes and get down on the floor to work.
Markers or pens for each participant. Multiple colors are good.

Preparation:

Read the info box about visual timeline.

Presentation:

Ask the participants to identify the event that they wish to depict for their timeline. Here are some examples:
Create your individual sport story
Capture the broad story of a one-year at your school
Tell the story of a weekend at the beach last summer (with Mom, Dad, and the kids).
Recall your changing emotional state since just this morning, for creating a mindfulness diary.
You can tell the participants to depict very brief and recent events just as easily as they can render complex.
Establish the Start and End Dates: Have team members turn their blank page sideways (landscape). This horizontal space is the canvas for their timeline.
Have them draw a line near the bottom of the page, leaving plenty of room above it.
Because this is their story, they get to decide when it starts and when it ends. (For example, perhaps they want to make the case that “the story of a student project” actually began.
Think broadly of everything that happened from the beginning to the end. Good events are up; negative events are down.
Ask them to drive only line with ups and downs reflecting their emotions about the chosen period of life.
Remind them to look at what was just created in the space of less than 2 minutes and how their simple line is loaded with meaning, feelings, and memories.
Invite the participants to bring it to life by populating the line with more meaning.
Ask them to populate the timeline with text, titles, and simple icons and stick figures to bring a little more meaning to the presentation.
To build participants’ confidence in their own visual competency, you can provide an Icon Cheat Sheet to demonstrate how simple stick figures, arrows, and icons can communicate a great deal of meaning. You can find a reproducible copy in the Appendix.
Finally, ask them to write the title of story beneath the line.
Expect to see many participants take out their cell phones to capture a picture of their drawing.
The final step is to take turns telling the stories. In small groups, ask them to present their visual timeline and answer questions.

Follow up questions:

Was there any point in the line you had difficulty to explain?
How did it help to reflect your past or experience?

Possible Variations:

The activity can be turned into a collective visualization. If your group has a common history to share, institutional memory, or organization, it can begin with the horizontal timeline with the start and end dates and then begin telling stories along the line.

To learn about storytelling
To make more engaging presentations
To use online visualization tools

When to use it?
While learning about visual storytelling and
presentation.

Materials:
Computer or tablets.

Preparation:
Read the info box about visual storytelling.
Read the guideline on use of free online visualization tools listed in the resource section to choose one of them.
Send the link of the good examples of visual stories (listed in the resource section) to the participants

Presentation:
Introduce the class the elements of a good visual storytelling and where it can be used with examples from different fields like reporting, and business; – 5 min.
Make them open good examples of visually told stories you sent and ask the participants to analyse them by following the questions:
Which visuals make up the story?
Do the visuals represent or add emphasis to what the author/s announcing?
How is tone of the story they’re telling? (Fun vs. Serious, Celebratory, etc.)
Are the visuals intriguing? (Does it inspire you to want to know more?)
Do the visuals tell a story (or start to) within seconds of seeing it?
Do the visual work for print, TV, online and social media?
Are the visuals memorable and meaningful?
Divide the participants in groups of two. Then let them choose one of the following story topics to tell:
Story of a successful entrepreneur.
Their own life experience
Their parents’ life
The life of a historical figure
The story of a company
Tell each group to plan their stories in terms of: data collection method, visual elements they will use and the tone of the story.
Ask each group to open one of the free visual storytelling tools and build their stories in one of them. 25 min.
In the end each group exchange their visual stories with the next group and ask them to analyse their stories with the same questions above. 15 min.
Invite classroom to give feedback on each story. Focus not on the aesthetic of the product, but on how relevantly and clearly it was converted into infographics. – 15 min.

Possible Variations:
In the end, participants can alternatively present the visual stories to each other make critics and contests.

Read the info box
Find three example visual boards from the links provided in resources section.
Find images, quotes or pictures that represent success or capture the emotions the participants would feel when they’ve reached their goals. You can use magazines or websites such as Pinterest, stock image sites or the image gallery. The images you select should inspire them or evoke positive emotions.
Presentation:

Ask participants to list their dreams, goals and ideal life. Remind them, there are different elements of their life, such as wealth, health, career, relationships and school. It doesn’t matter if they haven’t figured out exactly how they will achieve their goal; (15 mins.)
It helps to have prompts or questions to get you started. Ask them questions like:
Where have you always wanted to live?
What would your dream house look like?
What is your dream vacation?
What do you want to achieve at work or in your career?
What does your ideal work space look like?
If you had all the time in the world, how would you spend it?
What is an organization or cause you have always wanted to support?
Who are people you would like to meet or see?
Think about adding items from your bucket list of places to see and things to do before you die. You really can’t mess this up, so don’t overthink it.
Then ask them how they plan to achieve their goals. Show them example visual boards and explain what visual board is (see info box) and how the athletes, business people use it to plan their life. (10 mins.)
Then hand them out papers/cupboards, color pens and pictures to prepare their visual boards according to the goal list they made; (20 mins.)

Follow up questions:

How do you usually learn about new people and organizations?

Possible Variations:

If you feel like you need a little positive reinforcement to get vision board started, host a vision board party and ask participants to bring magazines and their laptops. Working on their vision board with a group may drive them to complete the project faster. It also serves as a built in accountability group for their vision.

To understand the importance of visualization in communication
To let the participants to know each other better.

When to use it?

At the beginning, getting to know each other

Materials:

Storyboard (see the appendix) print outs or A4 sheets

Preparation:

For each participant, make one copy of the storyboard, which is attached in the appendix.
Alternatively take A4 sheets according to number of participants.
Make sure all participants have pen or pencil to draw. In case, take a number of pen/pencil with you.
Read the info box about visualization and story board (info box 1a-1b).

Presentation:

Ask participants how much they know about the people in the classroom. Follow up with further questions such as how do they learn about personal information about other people, what is most permanent information about a person they get to know for the first time.
Tell them how visual elements in an information flow are more persistent than verbal and textual information by referring to the visualization theory part (x).
Then show them the story board and how it used in storytelling and different sectors.
Hand out one storyboard to each participant and tell them to draw pictures for each frames describing their life, hobbies and anything to share about themselves.
The participants can use one to three keywords for each frame to support the information in the frames.
Let them work on this for up to 20 minutes.
Then ask the participants to write their name on the storyboard and exchange it with the next person sitting beside her/him.
Give them another 5 minutes to study the frames to understand the story in it.
Then ask each participant to introduce/present the life of the person based on the storyboard they study.
After the presentation, ask the real owner of the storyboard whether she/he verifies the story.
Then invite the participants to discuss how useful it was to get to know a person with visual clues compared to verbal/textual introduction.

Follow up questions:

What was the most enjoyable part about storyboard?
How easier or more difficult is it to know about people with this method compared to reading or listening to them?

Possible Variations:

You can do the storyboarding with only pictures by dropping out keywords to increase the challenge.