I don't draw for a living. But I have been drawing TED on and off since 1994, at my first TED. I found that if I didn't make notes, I would just forget most everything. The speakers and their ideas blurred together into a tangled mess of unrelated concepts punctuated with many 'Magic Moments.' Visual notes help me listen for and capture essential ideas, getting to the underling metaphors, structures, and heart of the messages and ideas. Over the years, I've made many sketches, maybe 10,000. And recently, I have make them available to the TED community.

Why do I put in the effort? I forces me to keep my brain focused and actively listening, kind of a mental exercise. It helps me make deeper sense of the ideas and apply them to life and work. And it's, well, ... fun. I love listening for what's really important and vital.

Making ideas visible is a theme in my professional life. I have written books, created Academy Award winning software, built a consultancy, and delivered talks and workshops on how to use simple and sophisticated visual methods and tools to build understanding, solve complex problems, align teams, and elevate skills. My consultancy, The Wujec Group, delivers ridiculously effective immersive workshops, designs amazingly effective Playbooks, and delivers phenomenal training. Visit wujec.com to learn more or contact me directly.

I hope you enjoy and can apply this visual tour of TED. I'm always curious to see how you might use this.

tom@wujec.com