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JESSICA ELDREDGE: Hello everyone.

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Thank you so much for coming.

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My name is Jessica Eldredge.

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I'm a front-end developer at Shopify,

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and today I want to talk to you about taking[br]notes.

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More specifically, I want to talk about taking

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awesome notes by practicing sketchnoting.

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How many of you guys have heard of sketchnotes

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before? Oh, great. So exciting.

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Is anyone sketchnoting right

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now? I love you guys. Please share afterwards.[br]We're

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gonna Tweet all the photos.

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So if you haven't heard of sketchnoting, let[br]me

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explain. I like to describe it as visual notetaking.

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It's the practice of combining hand-drawn[br]elements and text

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to create visually-compelling notes. Are you[br]familiar with mind

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maps? Show of hands? Anybody done that before?[br]Yes?

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Who's used a whiteboard when designing software[br]before? All

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right. See? You guys got this. You're already[br]familiar

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with the concept of sketchnoting.

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Basically, it's the difference between notes[br]like this and

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notes like this. I first started sketchnoting[br]because of

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a man named Mike Rohde. He's a designer who

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lives in the midwest, and he coined the term

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sketchnoting. I was preparing to go to South[br]by

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Southwest one year, and I was searching the[br]internet

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for photos, trying to get an idea of what

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I was getting myself into, and I stumbled[br]across

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his notes.

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And he's been doing this for a long time.

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At least since 2008. And, you know, he does

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it when travels, when he goes to conferences,[br]meetings.

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And I just went into this rabbithole of looking

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at his wonderful notes and I thought, you[br]know,

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I think I can do this. Or I at

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least want to give it a try. And so

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I started practicing. I did it at that South

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by that I attended and local meetups and,[br]and

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meetings at work and I totally fell in love.

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So I was going back through the archives,[br]preparing

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for this talk, trying to find some of my

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first sketchnotes, and these are my very first[br]sketchnotes.

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And it's probably kind of hard to read, but

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the first speaker I saw was actually DHH.[br]I

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had no idea who he was back then. I

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was like, what is this? Thirty-seven signals?[br]I don't

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know.

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My sketchnotes have changed a lot since then.[br]Get

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ready for some eye candy.

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These are some notes by Paul Soupiset. He's[br]one

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of my favorites. I really love his handwriting.[br]Veronica

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Erb likes to incorporate illustrations into[br]her notes. She's

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got a really playful style. Sacha Chua. She's[br]from

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Toronto. She goes to a lot of technical talks.

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Captures a lot of content in her notes. And

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she actually uses a tablet PC and a stylus.

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I like that there's a lot of dense content

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here, but you can still kind of tell what's

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going on, cause she's highlighted the key[br]points.

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You can also use an iPad. There's various[br]apps

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on the iPad. You use a stylus to take

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notes, like Daniel Kirsch. Super condensed,[br]simplified. I love

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the pops of color. You can still get the

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point across.

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So there's a couple different ways that you[br]can

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take notes. There's live and there's later.[br]Live sketchnoting

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involves taking the notes at the same time[br]that

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the presentation is happening. You're doing[br]it in the

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moment. Later sketchnoting is kind of where[br]you might

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be able to jot down some bullet points, maybe

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using your computer, maybe on another piece[br]of paper,

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and you go back to your sketchbook later and

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draw them out.

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I prefer to do live sketchnoting, because[br]I'm a

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developer. I like to keep things DRY. I don't

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want to repeat myself. When the talk is done,

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my notes are done. I can immediately share[br]them

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and I can move on and enjoy the next

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talk. So for the rest of this talk, the

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techniques I'm gonna talk about mostly refer[br]to live

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sketchnoting.

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So why do we want to sketchnote? Firstly,[br]I

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think there's inspiration in analog processes.[br]Taking yourselves out

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of your computer. We're all developers, we[br]spend a

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lot of time on our gadgets and our devices.

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But spending some time with just good old[br]pen

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and paper allows for a change of perspective.[br]You

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get outside of your comfort zone and you start

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seeing things in a different way.

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Hopefully, while slowing down, you can clarify[br]some ideas

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that you already have and maybe come up with

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some new ones. Some famous sketchers that[br]didn't do

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it for a living include DaVinci, Kurt Vonnegut,[br]Darwin,

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and Freud. All of those people are amazing.[br]We

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know what they've done. They used sketching[br]to help

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clarify their ideas.

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Sketchnoting also allows you to focus. How[br]many of

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you guys have been in a meeting with your

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computer and you just check email real quick[br]or

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maybe somebody IMs you cause there's a bug[br]on

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production and you gotta fix it like right[br]now?

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Basically, the computer is a rabbit hole of[br]distractions.

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So, when I sketchnote, I try to put things

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away. I keep my phone out in case I

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need to look up words that I'm not familiar

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with, but all I have is my sketchbook and

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my pen and I'm listening to the content. You

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know, once you're on the computer, there's[br]just way

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too much stuff that can come up and I

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really like stepping away from that.

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Sketchnoting also helps to improve your memory.[br]There's this

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concept called the Duel Coding Theory which[br]is proposed

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by Allen Pyvo. It's saying that we process[br]information

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in two different ways. Using verbal and visual[br]information.

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And if you utilize both of them, you have

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a better chance of remembering the content[br]later.

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So, sketchnoting, you can use visual elements[br]and you're

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using your handwriting and later you'll hopefully[br]have an

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even better chance of remembering the content[br]that you're

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trying to capture.

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So all of that stuff I just told you

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is what you're gonna tell your boss to prove

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that you're not doodling in the meetings.[br]The real

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reason to sketchnote is that it's just fun.[br]I

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love talking about it. People love looking[br]at notes.

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I like looking at my notes. I think it's

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a really great practice, and really I just[br]don't

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need an excuse. I try to find out a

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way that I can do it whenever I can.

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So let's get to the good stuff. Like you're,

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maybe you're thinking, Jess, I can't draw.[br]I hear

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this all the time, and it's the reason why

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I'm giving my talk today. And I'm gonna debunk

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this in one slide. So what do you see

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up here? We've got some shapes. If you can

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draw any of these shapes, then you can sketchnote.

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If you can't draw these shapes, please come[br]find

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me. We will pair. I am willing to take

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the time to practice with you and we can

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get this done.

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Using these shapes, and practicing, is how[br]you're gonna

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sketchnote. You use lines, arrows, to connect[br]ideas. Use

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the boxes and the clouds to add emphasis.[br]Those

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shapes also form the basis, if you want to

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like, go and do some illustrations or icons,[br]these

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are all the fundamental building blocks that[br]you need.

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You're also gonna need some other tools. This[br]is

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what I like to call my sketchnoting config[br]file.

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I prefer to use a plain sketchbook. I use

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moleskin. Something with heavy paper. I'm[br]a very hamfisted

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drawer and, you know, I write really heavy,[br]so

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I don't want it to bleed.

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I use a uniball pen for most of the

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writing. It's very smooth. Something like[br]a roller ball.

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I know people that like gel pens. There's[br]a

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couple of other art pens in there that I

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use for bolder notes. And I've been using[br]a

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FaverCastle artist's pen for shading.

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So, kind of pick what works for you. A

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lot of people like to start out with grid

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paper, too, because if you feel like you can't

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write in straight line, then the grid lines[br]kind

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of help you keep everything in place.

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And, obviously, like I talked earlier about[br]some of

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the electronic devices that you can use. So[br]if,

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you know, it makes you feel better to use

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an iPad, then, you know, absolutely go for[br]it.

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So here are some sketchnotes of mine where[br]you

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can see some of those building blocks being[br]used.

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We've got a cloud and some arrows and lines

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and boxes. That's pretty much all you need.

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So here's the good part, right. How do you

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actually do this? And for this I'm gonna turn

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to one of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver,[br]who

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wrote in "Sometimes," "Instructions for living[br]a life: Pay

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attention. Be astonished. Tell about it."

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When I was reading this poem again really[br]recently,

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I thought, these are really good advice for[br]sketchnoting,

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as well. So how do we pay attention?

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The very first thing I want to tell people

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about sketchnoting is that it's not about[br]drawing, it's

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about listening. It requires active listening[br]to really focus

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on what the speaker's talking about. Sketchnoting[br]helps you

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focus on the important parts of a presentation.

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Listening is different than thinking. Sometimes[br]a speaker might

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be talking about something controversial,[br]maybe other ideas come

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up in your head while they're, while they're[br]speaking.

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You don't want to let your emotional reactions[br]get

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in the way of capturing content.

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So if you disagree or maybe, I mean, you

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might think of something else, or, you know,[br]oh

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I wish he'd said this, like. Eh. You don't

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want to let that get in the way. You

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really want to focus on what the speaker is

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saying, and then let the emotion come later.

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I also advise to follow the speaker and not

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the slides. We live in an age where most

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speakers are gracious enough to share their[br]slides on

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the internet with us later, so you can kind

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of get that content if you need to later,

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most of the time. The good stuff's not gonna

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be on the slides, though. The good stuff is

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gonna be with the speaker. You have one moment

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to be in the presentation with them and to

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really hear what they're saying.

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If you know a speakers' style, it's a little

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bit easier to plan your notes. I've been going

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to enough tech conferences that I kind of[br]get

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an idea ahead of time. DHH is gonna be

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super colorful and crazy and controversial.[br]Aaron Patterson loves

0:09:18.540,0:09:20.689
to tell a story, there's like, cool jokes[br]in

0:09:20.689,0:09:26.149
there. Glenn Vanderberg. Great storyteller.[br]Very linear format. So,

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as you practice, you'll kind of get an idea

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for that.

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I would follow the speaker's body language.[br]Their speech

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patterns. Maybe they like to take dramatic[br]pauses. It's

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a time for you to slow down, also, and

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pay attention to what they're saying.

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So how do you listen for key points? This

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is pretty hard. It's, you know, requires some[br]multi-tasking.

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Firstly, I would avoid summarizing everything.[br]I think when

0:09:48.819,0:09:51.709
you first start sketching, it's really tempting[br]to try

0:09:51.709,0:09:53.939
to get everything on paper. You don't want[br]to

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miss stuff. But you kinda gotta let that go.

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The talk title is the first clue to what

0:09:59.529,0:10:01.639
the important content is gonna be. But it's[br]not

0:10:01.639,0:10:06.290
always, you know, accurate. Sometimes the[br]speaker's gonna be

0:10:06.290,0:10:08.189
really cool and nice and tell you ahead of

0:10:08.189,0:10:10.209
time what they're gonna cover. You know, the[br]opening

0:10:10.209,0:10:11.850
slide, and say, I've got three things that[br]I'm

0:10:11.850,0:10:15.269
gonna go over today. But you're not always[br]gonna

0:10:15.269,0:10:17.059
be able to rely on that.

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So one thing I like to tell people is,

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if you had your phone out and you weren't

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taking sketchnotes right now, what would you[br]Tweet about?

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So anything that you listen to that you're[br]like,

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man, that's really awesome, that's what you[br]want to

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get down in your sketchnotes.

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So we're in a technical conference. I'm talking[br]to

0:10:32.709,0:10:35.089
developers who want to do this. There's gonna[br]be

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a lot of demos and live coding, and my

0:10:37.869,0:10:41.809
advice to you is don't sketch it. I tried

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to do it once. It's really hard. I tried

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to actually, you know, sketch code samples.[br]It's, it's

0:10:50.199,0:10:53.119
really hard. It's also gonna look kind of[br]boring

0:10:53.119,0:10:55.970
cause it's code.

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If you do want to sketchnote during a demo,

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though, I think there's still some tips you[br]can,

0:11:00.069,0:11:02.110
you can follow. You want to listen for gems

0:11:02.110,0:11:04.709
of advice. Usually there's a reason why somebody's[br]demoing.

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They want to show you that something's better[br]than

0:11:06.420,0:11:08.540
something else or, you know, kind of go through

0:11:08.540,0:11:12.779
a problem-solving exercise. Maybe there's[br]code libraries, gems, plugins,

0:11:12.779,0:11:14.660
that are mentioned during a talk that you've[br]never

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heard of before. I usually like to jot those

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down to go look up later.

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A lot of times, pros and cons. You know,

0:11:20.819,0:11:22.499
obviously, if somebody's showing off something[br]that they did,

0:11:22.499,0:11:24.509
they might say this is better than this other

0:11:24.509,0:11:25.959
way. Those are things that you might want[br]to

0:11:25.959,0:11:29.589
capture as well.

0:11:29.589,0:11:32.279
It's virtually impossible to write as fast[br]as somebody

0:11:32.279,0:11:35.619
can speak. So sometimes you need a back-up[br]plan.

0:11:35.619,0:11:38.309
I like to carry around some scratch paper.[br]I

0:11:38.309,0:11:40.009
advise using post-its to just kind of like[br]jot

0:11:40.009,0:11:42.529
down ideas real quick, in case you can't keep

0:11:42.529,0:11:46.119
up with the speaker's speech. There's usually[br]also lulls

0:11:46.119,0:11:48.850
between the main ideas. People pausing between[br]all of

0:11:48.850,0:11:51.009
their main points. That's also a good time[br]to

0:11:51.009,0:11:52.889
kind of go back and fill in, if you

0:11:52.889,0:11:55.149
missed something earlier.

0:11:55.149,0:11:56.980
You can also use post-its to hold on to

0:11:56.980,0:11:59.019
a note or an idea while you're waiting for

0:11:59.019,0:12:02.379
the connection. Sometimes they'll bring up[br]the problem and

0:12:02.379,0:12:04.119
talk about the solution later, and you want[br]to

0:12:04.119,0:12:05.709
just, like, hold onto that thought.

0:12:05.709,0:12:09.540
Also, sometimes, I mean, you might not want[br]to

0:12:09.540,0:12:11.600
commit an idea right away. Like, maybe something[br]better

0:12:11.600,0:12:13.299
is gonna come up next, so you can use

0:12:13.299,0:12:15.189
the post-it to sort of be a placeholder and

0:12:15.189,0:12:18.339
a backup plan in case that following idea[br]doesn't

0:12:18.339,0:12:20.549
pan out for you.

0:12:20.549,0:12:25.339
It's also important to be astonished. You[br]might want

0:12:25.339,0:12:27.179
to share your notes with the world and show

0:12:27.179,0:12:29.179
them to other people, but ultimately your[br]notes are

0:12:29.179,0:12:31.220
for you. You want to capture what stands out

0:12:31.220,0:12:32.670
to you in the moment and not worry about

0:12:32.670,0:12:35.529
what anybody else thinks.

0:12:35.529,0:12:37.660
Also feel free to fill-in gaps and add your

0:12:37.660,0:12:40.499
own sort of notes on the side. I used

0:12:40.499,0:12:43.329
to be really worried about capturing what[br]a speaker

0:12:43.329,0:12:46.220
said extremely accurately and I didn't want[br]to misrepresent

0:12:46.220,0:12:48.249
what they said in a talk, and I learned

0:12:48.249,0:12:50.569
to sort of let that go, because I need

0:12:50.569,0:12:52.939
to remember what they were saying. I need[br]to

0:12:52.939,0:12:54.949
interpret what they were saying. So sometimes,[br]you know,

0:12:54.949,0:12:57.379
I'll write something off to the side just[br]to,

0:12:57.379,0:12:59.709
you know, add in and enhance what they're[br]saying

0:12:59.709,0:13:01.609
so I can remember later.

0:13:01.609,0:13:04.019
It's, it's all about listening to what's being[br]said

0:13:04.019,0:13:05.839
and interpreting it in your own way, cause[br]you

0:13:05.839,0:13:09.109
want to remember what happened in the presentation.[br]It's

0:13:09.109,0:13:10.850
really interesting to see that a bunch of[br]people

0:13:10.850,0:13:12.399
can attend the same talk and come out of

0:13:12.399,0:13:15.040
it with different things.

0:13:15.040,0:13:16.970
These are some sketchnotes by Carolyn Sewell[br]at Brooklyn

0:13:16.970,0:13:20.279
Beta. She went to a talk by Tim O'Reilly.

0:13:20.279,0:13:21.769
I went to that same talk and these are

0:13:21.769,0:13:26.619
my notes. So vastly different styles.

0:13:26.619,0:13:29.569
Other fun things to capture include jokes[br]and quotes

0:13:29.569,0:13:33.339
and f-bombs. If the speaker's funny, capturing[br]a joke

0:13:33.339,0:13:35.319
is a great way to enhance your notes. Like,

0:13:35.319,0:13:37.779
I mean, it's what everybody remembers. It's[br]gonna make

0:13:37.779,0:13:39.279
you laugh when you go back and look at

0:13:39.279,0:13:43.779
your notes later. Cuss words usually used[br]for emphasis,

0:13:43.779,0:13:46.660
which means that it's something important.[br]If you want

0:13:46.660,0:13:49.029
great colorful notes, I advise going back[br]and looking

0:13:49.029,0:13:52.540
all of DHH's talks in the past.

0:13:52.540,0:13:55.160
I also listen for quotable moments. Any time[br]a

0:13:55.160,0:13:58.290
speaker makes a dramatic pause. Maybe they've[br]repeated a

0:13:58.290,0:14:01.579
phrase over and over again. Listening for[br]metaphors and

0:14:01.579,0:14:03.509
similes - that's a great chance for you to

0:14:03.509,0:14:06.160
kind of visualize something. The speaker's[br]doing it for

0:14:06.160,0:14:08.189
you. They're giving you a hint. This is like

0:14:08.189,0:14:10.179
this. And if you can come up with an

0:14:10.179,0:14:12.220
image that captures that, that's a good way[br]to

0:14:12.220,0:14:14.799
enhance your notes as well.

0:14:14.799,0:14:16.749
So, speaking of f-bombs, these are some notes[br]by

0:14:16.749,0:14:19.559
Erin Hawkins. This talk looks like it was[br]really

0:14:19.559,0:14:23.439
fun to go to.

0:14:23.439,0:14:25.139
Another thing you can do is create your own

0:14:25.139,0:14:28.019
visual language. And that means kind of coming[br]up

0:14:28.019,0:14:29.799
with a style or some sort of cue that

0:14:29.799,0:14:33.040
helps you remember certain things in, in a[br]talk.

0:14:33.040,0:14:36.139
So what's an example of a visual language?[br]Maybe

0:14:36.139,0:14:38.119
if you're trying to take direct quotes from[br]a

0:14:38.119,0:14:41.019
speaker you can use quote marks. Speech bubbles[br]for

0:14:41.019,0:14:44.230
direct quotes. Question bubbles for maybe[br]something, a question

0:14:44.230,0:14:45.939
you asked yourself and you want to look up

0:14:45.939,0:14:49.730
later. Like, an eye in a circle for info

0:14:49.730,0:14:53.579
or tips. I read on a blog somewhere that

0:14:53.579,0:14:56.839
this girl likes to put titles of books inside

0:14:56.839,0:14:58.699
a picture of a book, so she knows when

0:14:58.699,0:15:00.279
she scans through her notes if she wants to

0:15:00.279,0:15:02.239
go buy a book later, she can find it

0:15:02.239,0:15:05.059
very quickly.

0:15:05.059,0:15:08.980
So here's some examples of Eva-Lotta Lamm's[br]notes, and

0:15:08.980,0:15:14.139
she's using little highlighted quotes everywhere.[br]It's an easy

0:15:14.139,0:15:19.069
way to pick out the speaker's direct, direct[br]quotations.

0:15:19.069,0:15:21.269
And sometimes, you're gonna listen to a talk,[br]and

0:15:21.269,0:15:23.609
the content's still not gonna stick, is not[br]gonna

0:15:23.609,0:15:25.600
stick. And there's always a backup plan for[br]that

0:15:25.600,0:15:28.429
too. I went to this keynote. It was way

0:15:28.429,0:15:31.189
over my head. You know. Sometimes you just[br]gotta

0:15:31.189,0:15:32.279
be in the moment and you can't get it

0:15:32.279,0:15:33.569
on paper.

0:15:33.569,0:15:37.509
So, the last step is to tell people about

0:15:37.509,0:15:40.319
it. I really think it's important to share[br]your

0:15:40.319,0:15:42.859
notes. I think it's a great way to continue

0:15:42.859,0:15:46.889
the dialogue after a conversation. I use Twitter[br]as

0:15:46.889,0:15:49.790
the, as the main avenue for my notes. I

0:15:49.790,0:15:52.049
always use the conference hash tag and at[br]mention

0:15:52.049,0:15:53.350
the speaker.

0:15:53.350,0:15:56.220
You can also upload to places like Flicker[br]or

0:15:56.220,0:15:59.779
Instagram or Dribble. There's a blog called[br]sketchnote army

0:15:59.779,0:16:02.399
which is run by Mike Rhody. He takes submissions.

0:16:02.399,0:16:03.869
You can just Tweet at him. You can email

0:16:03.869,0:16:06.129
him. But he's also got a comittee of people

0:16:06.129,0:16:09.569
that go around the internet looking for sketchnotes,[br]whether

0:16:09.569,0:16:11.329
it's on Flicker or Twitter, and then he features

0:16:11.329,0:16:14.049
them on his blog. And, and it's really a

0:16:14.049,0:16:17.629
nice way to, you know, share with people,[br]but

0:16:17.629,0:16:19.549
also, like, thank the speaker.

0:16:19.549,0:16:21.249
Speaking of thanking the speaker, they're[br]gonna be really

0:16:21.249,0:16:23.299
grateful if you share your notes. I didn't[br]actually

0:16:23.299,0:16:26.160
realize that this was a thing until about[br]last

0:16:26.160,0:16:28.449
year when I was, like, really getting going[br]with

0:16:28.449,0:16:30.660
this. And people were Tweeting back at me,[br]like,

0:16:30.660,0:16:33.449
thank you so much, this is amazing. And it's,

0:16:33.449,0:16:34.959
it's kind of weird that I didn't think that

0:16:34.959,0:16:38.519
it was something that other people would care[br]about.

0:16:38.519,0:16:41.160
But it's nice to have an artifact of your

0:16:41.160,0:16:44.119
talk when you leave. It's also nice that people

0:16:44.119,0:16:46.259
are talking about your talk after you leave.[br]You

0:16:46.259,0:16:48.589
kind of want that, so sketchnotes are a good

0:16:48.589,0:16:51.319
way to, I think, thank the speaker and prove

0:16:51.319,0:16:53.350
that you were there and you really listened[br]and,

0:16:53.350,0:16:55.329
like, captured the information.

0:16:55.329,0:16:57.379
A lot of times in your sketchnotes, you'll[br]realize

0:16:57.379,0:16:59.579
that you capture information that the speaker[br]didn't even

0:16:59.579,0:17:01.259
intend. They didn't think it was that important[br]and

0:17:01.259,0:17:03.749
then, you know, here you're getting feedback[br]from people

0:17:03.749,0:17:07.609
saying, no, this was really cool.

0:17:07.609,0:17:11.689
Your boss will also be impressed. I think.[br]No

0:17:11.689,0:17:14.609
one else in your meeting is probably gonna[br]be

0:17:14.609,0:17:18.349
taking sketchnotes. You know, you're gonna[br]capture different ideas,

0:17:18.349,0:17:20.290
and it's a good way to enhance, like, team

0:17:20.290,0:17:22.679
dialogue, when you're like, sketching out[br]ideas or thinking

0:17:22.679,0:17:26.500
about, like, really hard problems. Sketchnotes[br]will add, like,

0:17:26.500,0:17:30.970
a diversity to the conversation.

0:17:30.970,0:17:33.009
So this isn't all. There are some actual practical

0:17:33.009,0:17:35.940
tips that I can pass on to you. The

0:17:35.940,0:17:38.610
first one is to get comfortable. I always[br]go

0:17:38.610,0:17:40.360
to a meeting or a talk early to find

0:17:40.360,0:17:44.120
a good seat. The aisle is great for elbow

0:17:44.120,0:17:46.830
room. It's not so great for people flowing[br]into

0:17:46.830,0:17:48.200
the room and you constantly have to get up

0:17:48.200,0:17:51.360
and interrupted. So I actually recommend a[br]middle seat.

0:17:51.360,0:17:53.549
I also try to tell people to find a

0:17:53.549,0:17:55.860
good light source. They'll dim the lights[br]in a

0:17:55.860,0:17:57.610
lot of conferences, so you want to try to

0:17:57.610,0:17:59.330
find some way that you can look at your

0:17:59.330,0:18:00.740
sketch book.

0:18:00.740,0:18:03.159
I'm also that jerk that will put my purse

0:18:03.159,0:18:04.820
on the seat next to me so I have

0:18:04.820,0:18:10.139
some room. I'm sorry Marty. I mean. You know,

0:18:10.139,0:18:12.360
it's really hard when you're squished in and[br]people

0:18:12.360,0:18:13.929
are sitting next to you and typing on their

0:18:13.929,0:18:15.759
laptops. You know, sometimes it's nice to[br]have a

0:18:15.759,0:18:18.850
little bit of elbow room.

0:18:18.850,0:18:21.100
I think also getting to a talk early means

0:18:21.100,0:18:23.169
that you can write down the speaker's name,[br]their

0:18:23.169,0:18:25.139
Twitter handle, the title. Get that stuff[br]out of

0:18:25.139,0:18:26.740
the way so that you're ready to go when

0:18:26.740,0:18:29.850
they start.

0:18:29.850,0:18:32.309
It's also important to slow down. When I did

0:18:32.309,0:18:34.240
a practice run of this talk at Shopify, some

0:18:34.240,0:18:36.210
people came up to me and said, well my

0:18:36.210,0:18:37.889
hand handwriting's really bad. So what do[br]I do

0:18:37.889,0:18:40.769
about that? And I advised this person to slow

0:18:40.769,0:18:42.909
down and write your letters as if you're drawing

0:18:42.909,0:18:45.059
them. When you slow down, you have to be

0:18:45.059,0:18:46.509
deliberate about it.

0:18:46.509,0:18:49.169
Also, trying to draw larger letters will force[br]you

0:18:49.169,0:18:51.620
to slow down, and I think make you really

0:18:51.620,0:18:55.330
pay attention to your writing. When, if you're[br]doing

0:18:55.330,0:18:57.149
your normal handwriting it's easy to just[br]go really

0:18:57.149,0:18:58.559
fast and it, you know, turns out a little

0:18:58.559,0:19:00.399
bit sloppy. So if you slow down, I think

0:19:00.399,0:19:01.860
it really helps.

0:19:01.860,0:19:05.590
Also, try to play with layouts. You know,[br]normally

0:19:05.590,0:19:07.980
when we're writing just regular notes on pen[br]and

0:19:07.980,0:19:10.580
paper, we're going top down. I think, kind[br]of

0:19:10.580,0:19:12.370
stepping outside of your comfort zone and[br]trying something

0:19:12.370,0:19:15.610
different will really help. There's different[br]ways to do

0:19:15.610,0:19:18.409
that. I tend to do sort of a popcorn

0:19:18.409,0:19:20.419
style, where I just fill in notes anywhere[br]there's

0:19:20.419,0:19:22.799
space on my page.

0:19:22.799,0:19:25.720
People can also do columns. It's really great[br]for

0:19:25.720,0:19:28.450
panels. You can do a radial style, where maybe

0:19:28.450,0:19:30.080
you start in the middle and sort of map

0:19:30.080,0:19:32.669
out, kind of like mind maps. There's also[br]sort

0:19:32.669,0:19:35.899
of the winding story lane sort of style. You

0:19:35.899,0:19:38.090
can go left to right, left to right.

0:19:38.090,0:19:40.409
But, basically it's important to try to challenge[br]yourself

0:19:40.409,0:19:43.840
and do something different. So these are some[br]examples

0:19:43.840,0:19:47.130
from Veronica Erb, again, doing sort of a[br]radial

0:19:47.130,0:19:48.380
style. You can see like the title up at

0:19:48.380,0:19:52.110
the top and she's sort of going out.

0:19:52.110,0:19:54.710
And the decoration last. This is gonna be[br]really

0:19:54.710,0:19:56.289
tempting, too, when you're sketchnoting. You[br]want to make

0:19:56.289,0:19:57.899
it look really pretty and you're trying to[br]capture

0:19:57.899,0:20:00.190
everything. But I said before, you know, there's[br]always

0:20:00.190,0:20:02.059
these moments in the talk where people are[br]pausing

0:20:02.059,0:20:04.490
or maybe transitioning or maybe the speaker's[br]kind of

0:20:04.490,0:20:06.799
boring for a little while. And you can use

0:20:06.799,0:20:08.649
that time to sort of add all those boxes

0:20:08.649,0:20:11.610
and arrows and shading that you weren't able[br]to

0:20:11.610,0:20:13.480
capture earlier.

0:20:13.480,0:20:15.100
And you can also use your post-its, again,[br]to

0:20:15.100,0:20:16.889
keep that backlog and sort of, you know, help

0:20:16.889,0:20:19.960
you pace yourself if you can't fill up the

0:20:19.960,0:20:21.870
space. I like to go back after the talk,

0:20:21.870,0:20:23.820
as well, just really quickly, before I share,[br]just

0:20:23.820,0:20:25.570
to sort of add some more detail and boldness

0:20:25.570,0:20:27.340
if I'm, like, reflecting on the talk and sort

0:20:27.340,0:20:29.110
of realizing that something was extra important,[br]I'll try

0:20:29.110,0:20:32.220
to go back and, and add some embellishment.

0:20:32.220,0:20:35.830
It's also important to embrace mistakes. Especially[br]if you're

0:20:35.830,0:20:37.950
live sketchnoting, it's gonna happen. There's[br]no way to

0:20:37.950,0:20:41.690
get around it. It can be really scary to,

0:20:41.690,0:20:43.620
to use a pen and paper. You might want

0:20:43.620,0:20:45.220
to use pencil but I really encourage you to

0:20:45.220,0:20:48.940
just go ahead and use pen. I bring a

0:20:48.940,0:20:50.850
bold marker just in case I need to fix

0:20:50.850,0:20:53.529
something really crazy. But be OK with scratching[br]out

0:20:53.529,0:20:54.879
a word. If you didn't spell it right the

0:20:54.879,0:20:56.669
first time or if it was wrong, it's, it's

0:20:56.669,0:20:57.590
totally OK.

0:20:57.590,0:20:59.740
So here are some notes that I took and

0:20:59.740,0:21:02.809
there's like smudges and this word right here,[br]that

0:21:02.809,0:21:05.590
was the first time I spelled entrepreneurs[br]wrong. I

0:21:05.590,0:21:12.110
tried again. I still spelled it wrong. Like,[br]so

0:21:12.110,0:21:14.100
it's gonna happen. Like.

0:21:14.100,0:21:17.009
As with anything, practice makes better. There's[br]some ways

0:21:17.009,0:21:19.049
you can do that. I advice people to start

0:21:19.049,0:21:22.679
out with already recorded conference talks,[br]like TED talks.

0:21:22.679,0:21:25.049
Do it in your meetings at work. Even reality

0:21:25.049,0:21:28.450
TV. I have sketchnoted Real Housewives before.[br]It's really

0:21:28.450,0:21:30.330
fun.

0:21:30.330,0:21:32.789
Watching videos at home on your own takes[br]the

0:21:32.789,0:21:35.070
pressure off of live sketchnoting a little[br]bit. You've

0:21:35.070,0:21:37.000
got a pause button. You can sort of figure

0:21:37.000,0:21:39.690
out your pace. As you practice, you'll also[br]get

0:21:39.690,0:21:42.379
a really good sense of how much information[br]you

0:21:42.379,0:21:44.539
can capture in a given amount of time.

0:21:44.539,0:21:47.279
I used to take up two pages for every

0:21:47.279,0:21:50.500
single talk no matter how long the content[br]was.

0:21:50.500,0:21:53.379
I have no gotten everything down to a page,

0:21:53.379,0:21:55.370
like, whether it's an hour and a half talk

0:21:55.370,0:21:57.690
or a thirty minute talk. And so as you

0:21:57.690,0:22:00.350
practice you'll sort of find, you know, your[br]own

0:22:00.350,0:22:00.899
style.

0:22:00.899,0:22:07.840
Here are some of my notes. Name the movie.

0:22:07.840,0:22:10.769
So some notes by MJ Valente. She was sketchnoting

0:22:10.769,0:22:13.039
a BBC episode.

0:22:13.039,0:22:18.149
Get inspired. When we all started out developing,[br]what

0:22:18.149,0:22:21.769
did we do? We just copied other peoples' code

0:22:21.769,0:22:23.529
and then we tried to make it better. And

0:22:23.529,0:22:27.480
I advise doing the same thing for sketchnoting.[br]I,

0:22:27.480,0:22:30.029
when I first started, just went on the internet,

0:22:30.029,0:22:32.759
just through Flicker everyday looking for[br]other peoples' styles

0:22:32.759,0:22:34.529
that I liked, and I tried to just copy

0:22:34.529,0:22:35.940
it.

0:22:35.940,0:22:38.370
As you become more comfortable, you'll find[br]your own

0:22:38.370,0:22:40.629
style. But it's OK, because even if you're[br]trying

0:22:40.629,0:22:42.529
to copy somebody else's style, it's never[br]gonna look

0:22:42.529,0:22:44.679
exactly like theirs. So it's always gonna[br]be your

0:22:44.679,0:22:45.809
own.

0:22:45.809,0:22:48.299
Some good resources for that include Sketchnote[br]Army, like

0:22:48.299,0:22:50.590
I said before. There is a hash tag on

0:22:50.590,0:22:53.919
flicker and there's various user groups on[br]Flicker devoted

0:22:53.919,0:22:56.840
just to sketchnoting. I actually found a bunch[br]of

0:22:56.840,0:23:02.809
boards on Pinterest, so that's another great[br]resource.

0:23:02.809,0:23:05.789
So experimentation is how you're gonna find[br]your own

0:23:05.789,0:23:07.629
style. And what I advise doing is start with

0:23:07.629,0:23:10.740
the copying, and then copy another persons'[br]style and

0:23:10.740,0:23:13.450
then copy another persons' style and start[br]mixing and

0:23:13.450,0:23:16.289
matching, and you'll sort of find your happy[br]place.

0:23:16.289,0:23:18.299
I mean, I spent a lot of time trying

0:23:18.299,0:23:22.769
to, to match Paul Soupiset's handwriting.[br]I've never gotten

0:23:22.769,0:23:24.830
it quite right.

0:23:24.830,0:23:26.450
But I've taken elements of what all of my

0:23:26.450,0:23:30.169
favorite sketchnoters do and tried to add[br]them to

0:23:30.169,0:23:31.279
my own.

0:23:31.279,0:23:33.399
Mike Rohde wrote a book that covers a lot

0:23:33.399,0:23:35.440
more than what I was able to tell you

0:23:35.440,0:23:37.710
today. This book is amazing. It's actually[br]got some

0:23:37.710,0:23:40.639
really great hands on exercises that you can[br]do.

0:23:40.639,0:23:44.559
I highly recommend it.

0:23:44.559,0:23:45.669
So at the end of this talk, I've sat

0:23:45.669,0:23:46.820
here and I've told you all about how to

0:23:46.820,0:23:49.000
do this, and you're like, Jess, I still can't

0:23:49.000,0:23:50.950
draw. You haven't told me how to draw. But

0:23:50.950,0:23:54.950
that's OK. Cause you can sketchnote. So please[br]go

0:23:54.950,0:23:55.769
do that.

0:23:55.769,0:23:58.840
OK. So the question was this talk focused[br]on

0:23:58.840,0:24:01.889
sketchnoting for yourself, and is there any[br]advice for

0:24:01.889,0:24:03.809
communicating with other people?

0:24:03.809,0:24:07.269
Yeah. I mean, I think, like, I, I mentioned

0:24:07.269,0:24:09.759
different ways or, different places that you[br]can sketchnote.

0:24:09.759,0:24:12.360
I sketchnote in my meetings at work. I don't

0:24:12.360,0:24:14.330
do a great job of sharing them with everyone.

0:24:14.330,0:24:17.190
Nick, I'll do that next week. It is, I

0:24:17.190,0:24:20.029
think that is a good way. Sharing them actually

0:24:20.029,0:24:21.960
helps other people, too.

0:24:21.960,0:24:24.820
You'll find, in meetings, there's not actually[br]a lot

0:24:24.820,0:24:26.899
of people that take notes. I mean, it's kind

0:24:26.899,0:24:30.340
of surprising sometimes. We all think we're[br]gonna remember

0:24:30.340,0:24:32.330
when we walk away. So if you're the one

0:24:32.330,0:24:35.210
that sketchnotes and you know you find it[br]fun

0:24:35.210,0:24:36.860
and other people find it fun, sharing it right

0:24:36.860,0:24:39.929
afterwards is actually really, really helpful.

0:24:39.929,0:24:42.159
We've done a lot of whiteboarding sessions,[br]you know,

0:24:42.159,0:24:44.690
people take pictures with their cameras to[br]capture that.

0:24:44.690,0:24:47.639
Your sketchnotes add another layer to that[br]conversation. And

0:24:47.639,0:24:49.440
so I think just bringing all of that together

0:24:49.440,0:24:52.950
helps, you know, sort of document what happened[br]so

0:24:52.950,0:24:53.889
people can remember.

0:24:53.889,0:24:56.370
Does that answer your question?

0:24:56.370,0:24:56.990
Thank you very much.