Just have to brag for a minute about the incredibly talented Julia Reich of Stone Soup Creative — she completely captured our vibe during our session with NCW. 🎨✨
Our team has facilitated a ton of events with amazing partners, and we genuinely hadn’t seen anything quite like this before. Watching Julia work in real time honestly blew our minds. And also, SHE’S cool!!!!
She’s a master graphic recorder — listening deeply, synthesizing fast, and turning complex conversations into visuals that are both smart and alive. We even ended up talking with her about how much improv she uses to create these pieces on the fly (turns out: a lot).
If you want to elevate an event in a truly memorable way, Julia is next-level. Way impressed. – Holly Mandel +Sarah Hicks, iMergence Corporate Improv Training
I met the iMergence team at a recent corporate event where both of us were invited to help employees think and work more divergently. I was there for live visual recording while iMergence ran a wildly fun workshop for a few hundred people over the three-day summit.
Capturing their session was one of the most raucous, noisy, dynamic—and deeply satisfying—scribing experiences I’ve had. I wasn’t onstage, but drawing their energy felt like dancing across the board with my markers: listening to movement, tone, and content, then translating it into visuals in real time. Afterwards we compared notes and realized how much our work overlaps—graphic recording and improv share a surprising number of skills.
Here are a few core similarities (and a couple distinctions):
Encourages Collaboration
Improv’s purpose at the event was team-building: it “gets people out of their heads and into a ‘we’ mindset, cuts through silos, and rewires stale dynamics… with a full-body, real-time experience.” – www.imergenceusa.com Likewise, live illustration invites participation. When people see their ideas drawn in the moment, they’re more likely to share, connect, and build trust. Instead of getting everyone on stage, you get everyone on the same page.
Activates Energy
There’s an unmistakable energy shift when an artist is visually translating conversation. Attendees often tell me watching the process made the content more engaging and easier to understand. Improv does the same via movement, play, and audience interaction: people stand, laugh, and participate, which breaks inertia and boosts attention. Both practices increase engagement by turning passive listening into an active, sensory experience.
Promotes Openness
I remember once there was a speaker who was standing near me at the side of the stage as he was about to give a talk on ‘being present’. I was poised with my magic markers in hand, waiting for him to begin speaking. In that moment he gestured to my blank white foamboard and noted, ‘Now that’s being present in the moment!’ I had to smile and nod my head in full agreement. What was he was going to say, and what would his delivery style be like? Would it be full of stories and metaphors? Would he show slides and give examples? I didn’t know, but I need to be focused and self-aware.
That state of readiness mirrors improv’s “yes, and…” principle: accept what’s offered, build on it, and stay open to surprise. For both graphic recorders and improv performers, being present means listening without preconceptions, synthesizing quickly, and responding in ways that honor what’s emerging.
Listen, Synthesize, Respond
Both disciplines rely on the same rapid loop: listen carefully, synthesize the essence, and respond immediately. We can’t perform our work unless we’re open to not knowing, ready to take what’s given and translate it into something useful and meaningful for the group.
Why This Matters for Events
Clients who invite practitioners like iMergence and Stone Soup Creative aren’t just hiring entertainment or décor; they’re investing in sensory tools that build trust, support collaboration, and create memorable engagement. When markers meet improv, you don’t just get notes—you get a shared experience that helps teams think differently, connect more deeply, and leave energized.
If you want to elevate your next event with something that’s equal parts strategy, art, and live performance, bring both the improv and the visual recorder. The result is memorable, practical, and a lot more fun than a PowerPoint!
