Improving Online Meetings with Doodles

Hello, I'm pj-corridor, a platform engineer. This article is a translated version of the original Japanese article.

0. Whiteboard

In the past, when going to the office was the norm, discussions utilizing whiteboards were held throughout the office. In retrospect, discussions using whiteboards were effective in many respects, such as :

• Organizing one\'s ideas
• Enhancing participants\' creativity
• Aligning participants\' understanding
• Early detection of issues by drawing out participants\' perspectives and questions

For companies in the process of integrating knowledge and culture between former organizations, such as right after an M&A, we would like to bridge the gaps through discussions using whiteboards, as we did before. However, in situations where global collaboration and diverse working styles are prevalent, it is not always possible for all stakeholders to gather in person. Then, it is essential to enhance the quality of online communication in our daily operations.

Therefore, as an alternative to discussions using whiteboards, I'd like to suggest using doodles extensively, along with discussions that utilize them.

1. Benefits of Doodles

As Richard Sennett explores in "The Craftsman", the act of making is inherently linked to thinking and problem-solving. In the process of devising doodles while preparing for discussions, you can better organize your thoughts and points of argument. This alone makes creating doodles highly recommended.

Moreover, since doodles are easy to grasp in concrete form, participants can easily spot inconsistencies and unclear points. The visual stimulation also draws out participants\' creativity, sparking new ideas and solutions. Additionally, the picture superiority effect makes it easier to remember information after online communication.

While using existing materials is rational from the perspective of reducing preparation time, if you value the benefits mentioned above, I recommend investing in the use of doodles I suggested.

2. Increase the Number of Pages

First, don\'t hesitate to increase the number of pages. However, increasing the number of pages is not the same as overwhelming participants with voluminous materials. The goal is to enhance the quality of online communication.

For example, having participants navigate back and forth between slides or transitioning to linked content to reference specific information can hinder understanding and discussion. If you want to repeatedly refer to the same slide, it should be reinserted each time. If you are concerned about maintenance errors caused by copying, you can manage slides that need to be reused as slide-master layouts.

Now, let's increase the number of pages further. With that mindset, let me introduce :

1. Where We Are Now
2. Pay Attention !
3. Insights from Change

3. Where We Are Now

Participants may feel stressed about leaving inconsistencies or unclear points unresolved, even if they don't want to interrupt the conversation with trivial questions. Therefore, insert slides that clearly indicate when the topic changes (in this case, I recommend to use slides with inverted brightness) and visualize the progress at the same time.

By doing this, you can expect effects such as :

• Making it easier for participants to determine when to ask questions
• Allowing presenters to create opportunities to ask about understanding based on the situation

Intentionally creating timing can promote interactivity.

4. Pay Attention !

Emphasizing a part of doodles to draw participants\' attention is useful when you want to explain the whole in order or deepen discussions on important parts.

For example :

1. Duplicate the doodle and change the overall tone to a grayed-out expression, such as overlaying it with 10% transparency white.
2. Add the slide from step 1 as a layout in the slide master.
3. Overlay the original doodle on a new slide using the layout from step 2.
4. Remove everything except the part you want to highlight.
5. As a result, the removed parts will be grayed out.

The slide created using these steps looks like this :

By overlaying a dark color, for example, 50% transparency black, it looks like this :

You can also use radial lines or background colors. In this case, having a set of reusable parts is convenient.

5. Insights from Change

Things that are hard to notice only in snapshots can become apparent by demonstrating change, making it easier for participants to gain insights. This is a doodle used in discussions on real projects. With a doodle only Before & After, which omits several changes in process, participants\' thoughts cannot keep up.

By inserting doodles that express several changes in between, you can draw out more perspectives from participants, leading to the early detection and improvement of issues.

For example, you might gain insights like this at each step :

1. In this step, presenter uses several changes to appeal to participants\' mental models about the "integration of A and B". Participants will then be concerned about attribute information or state conflicts linked to A and B and will demonstrate creativity to resolve them.
2. In this step, presenter explains that C requires special treatment, including the background. Participants will then understand that this state is challenging to express in the UI.
3. In this step, presenter explains proposal that aligns the treatment of D and E with C, maintaining consistency overall. Participants will then deepen their understanding of the Before & After based on the background and simultaneously begin exploring better alternatives.

You can expect to draw out participants\' creativity in this way.

On a side note, when someone starts using the pen tool of online meeting system, other participants tend to wait (in a state of suspended thinking) while watching the screen until it's completed. Then, the finished modern art confuses participants anew.

The pen tool promotes interactivity through visual stimulation, but it seems more effective when used simply, such as :

• Adding a few lines
• Marking elements with "o" or "x"
• Drawing one or two additional elements

With doodles that include several changes, you can easily select a base doodle that matches the discussion point, maximizing the effect of the pen tool.

6. Avoid Preconceptions

As stimulating participants\' creativity is one goal, be mindful of preconceptions, misunderstandings, and distractions that hinder understanding. For example, if size is a discussion point, the doodle should represent size relationships without causing misunderstandings.

Also, when expressing connections, it\'s important to minimize misunderstandings. In the following doodle, when connecting boxes labeled with the same letter, using an elbow connector is not recommended. Instead, there is room for improvement by using straight or curved lines.

For example, how about visual separation of intersections using masks ?

Shifting the intersection itself might also work.

You can move connectors to the front or change the order of masks and connectors using "Format Shape" + "Selection Pane".

Next, let's express the relationship of the vertices of an equilateral triangle with doodle. When positioning an equilateral triangle at the center of a slide according to PowerPoint guides, the center and centroid of the triangle do not align. Therefore, a doodle connecting each vertex from the center may give the impression that vertex A is a special entity, which is inappropriate for expressing equal relationships.

A doodle connecting each vertex from the centroid of an equilateral triangle can clearly indicate the equal relationship of each vertex.

In the case of a regular pentagon, a doodle connecting each vertex from the center of the guide reveals the source of discomfort when rotated.

A doodle connecting each vertex from the centroid maintains a beautiful regular pentagon even when rotated.

Next is a topic specific to concrete examples. A doodle often expresses API offerings or data exchanges. In this case, the direction of the HTTP request calling the API and the direction of data exchange may not only be the same but also opposite. Be careful not to cause preconceptions or misunderstandings about what the arrows in the doodle are intended to represent.

7. Which Preset Storage ?

A doodle often represents storage, especially for system use, but PowerPoint has two types of preset storage. Cylinder A cannot adjust the shape of the bottom, resulting in awkward perspective when elongated. Which cylinder should be used ?

Cylinder B allows for expressing data accumulation or proportions in storage by overlaying cylinders without using gradient fills. In conclusion, using cylinder B seems more flexible.

8. Doodle in Tables

There are times when you want to express the behavior for each use case using both tables and doodles. While separating tables and doodles into different slides makes the material tidy, you have to navigate between slides to understand what happens in each case.

How about making a doodle into a table ? Although it may look cluttered, it succinctly expresses what happens in each case. It's also possible to embed the doodle part using Slide Zoom.

9. You Can Draw Anything

Like generative AI improves accuracy with specific examples, specific examples are beneficial when dealing with humans too. By providing specific examples as input, you can set expectations for the direction of arguments and feedback, enabling more targeted discussions. Finally, for your specific examples, I\'ll share how to draw doodles with high flexibility.

For example, a diamond can be created by:

1. Combining triangles
2. Coloring each part with gradient fills
3. Grouping them

Bags and wallets can be drawn easily. Reuse them for advertisements or EC-specific examples.

For more flexible doodle preparation, prepare a shape with rounded edges by surrounding a square with curves.

The same applies to shapes other than squares.

Connect and join these to create a stick figure.

When you'd like to use stick figures more easily, please check out my Stick Figure Gallery made by Three.js. You can find something close to your image and make slight adjustments to obtain the desired stick figure material.

As a side note, PNG or JPG images can also be color-adjusted or have their backgrounds removed in PowerPoint. For example, when expressing multiple characters with PNG image icons, you can handle it with color adjustments without preparing different images.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this far. In fact, my method using doodles is still in the process of trial and error and improvement, and it is not yet systematically organized, with ongoing updates planned. The burden of drawing doodles remains a challenge. On the other hand, within the scope summarized in this article, we have been able to experience its effectiveness through actual work, and we hope that readers will try it as a means to improve online communication.

The PowerPoint file used in this article is available here, so feel free to use it.