Think about your day-to-day interactions as a leader. How often do you find yourself in meetings that go in circles, struggling to articulate a complex concept to a colleague or trying to make a message stand out in a sea of presentation slides? What if I told you there’s a simple, effective, and surprisingly engaging tool you can use to tackle all these situations?

The tool is drawing—not polished, gallery-worthy sketches—just quick, simple, on-the-fly visuals that help convey ideas, foster collaboration, and steer discussions. Drawing as a visual language is about communication, not artistry, and it’s a skill every leader can (and should) master.

Why Leaders Should Embrace Drawing as a Visual Language

  1. To generate clarity in complexity: Visuals help break down complex ideas into digestible components. A quick sketch can simplify a convoluted concept in a way that words alone cannot.
  2. To engage better: Drawing commands attention. Whether on a whiteboard, a flip chart, or a piece of paper, a live-created visual draws people in (pun intended), engaging them more deeply with your message because they’ve been part of the creation process.
  3. To create shared understanding: Visuals act as a shared reference point. Everyone in the room sees the same thing, reducing the risk of misinterpretation.
  4. To problem-solve faster: When meetings hit a deadlock, grabbing a marker and visually mapping out ideas can help the team find a way forward by making connections and gaps more apparent.
  5. It’s Universally Accessible: You don’t need to be a trained artist to use drawing as a tool. Simple lines and shapes are enough to convey your message.

Where Leaders Can Use Visual Language

  1. Steering Meetings: When discussions stagnate, grab a marker and sketch on the whiteboard, or digital whiteboard if you’re online. Whether mapping ideas, summarising key points, or showing how concepts connect, visuals can refocus and energise the room. Even when you think the sketch is an indistinguishable squiggle, watch the other people reorient their conversation around that squiggle. It can take on a life of its own.
  2. Explaining Complex Concepts: Sometimes, words alone aren’t enough. A quick sketch doodled on a piece of paper or a digital whiteboard can speed up understanding for team members, stakeholders, or clients.
  3. Presenting Information: Ditch slide dependency by drawing out elements of your presentation live on a flip chart or digital tool. This approach makes it personal and engaging, bringing your audience on a journey with you.
  4. Strategic Thinking: Use visuals to map out goals, challenges, and plans. This can make strategic discussions more dynamic and collaborative.

How to Get Started

You don’t need to be an artist to start using drawing as a visual language. In fact, if you can draw a (relatively) straight line and a curve, you already have everything you need. Here’s how to begin:

  1. Start with Simple Shapes:
  • Keep It Basic: Think of a drawing as a symbol, not a photorealistic depiction. A circle and a line can be a tree if you label it “tree.”
  • Visualise the Basic Shapes: Get a mental image of the object you want to draw or google search an image on your phone. Break it down into circles, squares, triangles, and lines. For example, a house could be a square with a triangle on top.
  1. Master the Page:
  • Think About Layout: Where you place icons matters. Use size, proximity, and alignment to show relationships and hierarchy.
  • Show Connections: Use lines, arrows, and boxes to illustrate how concepts interact.
  • Use Visual Cues: Colour-coding, bold text, and larger icons can highlight key points.
  1. Remember the Verb:
  • Drawing is about doing, not just the final product. The act of drawing in real time—whether on a whiteboard in a meeting or on a flip chart during a presentation—creates a shared experience that fosters connection and engagement.

Principles for Drawing on the Fly

  1. Keep It Simple: Your goal is communication, not perfection. The simpler the drawing, the easier it is for your audience to understand.
  2. Embrace Titles: Label your icons to give them instant meaning. A simple label transforms a squiggle into “Bob” or a line into “sales growth.”
  3. Show Relationships: The power of visual language lies in how individual icons relate to each other. To clarify these connections, use connecting lines, grouped clusters, or directional arrows.
  4. Think Beyond Icons: Visual language is more than doodles. It’s about using space effectively—where things are placed, how big they are, and how they interact visually.

At the end of the day, it’s not about the artistic merit of your drawing—it’s about the message. Your team doesn’t care if your tree looks like a blob; they care that your blob helped them understand the big picture.

Why Leaders Should Start Drawing Today

Drawing isn’t just for creative professionals; it’s a practical communication tool that leaders can use every day. It creates clarity, fosters engagement, and encourages collaboration. The best part? You don’t need to be an artist. All you need is a pen, a surface, and a willingness to give it a try.

So, grab a marker in your next meeting, doodle out a solution for a colleague, or sketch an idea for your team. You’ll communicate better and inspire those around you to think differently, solve creatively, and connect more deeply.