Many a manager thinks when an employee doodles in meetings, he or she is not paying attention. Nothing could be further from the truth.
We all process information differently. Some of us rely on auditory intake; others need to see something in writing in order to comprehend it. Some of us need to experience things firsthand and test it ourselves before it sinks in. And for many of us, the fine art of doodling is how we absorb and remember.
To an uninformed eye, someone who is head down, scribbling strange marks and symbols all over their copy of the agenda, does not appear to be listening to the speaker or absorbing anything said. The artwork produced is questionable at best, and doesn’t seem to hold any real meaning. Yet to the doodler, random marks and squiggles act as a powerful concentration tool.
Here’s an interesting discovery: people who doodle while absorbing new information remember 29% more of what is being discussed. A study outlined in Applied Cognitive Psychology tested the retention of people who doodled. Their ability to recall details from a long, rambling message – played back to non-doodlers as well, showed they could remember significantly more than their counterparts.
Be cautious of thinking someone who is not doodling is paying more attention. Just because you can sit still in a long meeting, and appear to be listening intently, doesn’t mean you really are. Adult learning theory tells us we can listen for about twenty minutes before we start to tune out. When we daydream (and who hasn’t in a long, boring meeting?) we turn off the part of our brain used to process information, weigh what’s being said and make decisions. The doodler sitting next to the daydreamer is usually the one who gets reprimanded for not paying attention, when actually, they are functioning more in the present, by keeping their brain actively engaged.
Doodling keeps you focused, increases comprehension and boosts creative thinking (read: problem solving) – benefits all smart managers want their staff to embrace.
So dear reader, for maximum comprehension and intake, use your noodle and start to doodle. And managers, think about who contributes unexpected insights and solid observations in your meetings – chances are it’s the doodler in the bunch.
And for a little inspiration…
- Famous doodlers and their work: Presidential Doodles: Two Centuries of Scribbles, Scratches, Squiggles, and Scrawls from the Oval Office
- Watch Sunni Brown’s entertaining TED Talk, Doodlers, unite!