New to conference-going? Feeling apprehensive by the thought of being in the presence of so many talented visual thinkers? Fear not! We've produced this handy guide on how to make the most of your VizConf 2018 experience.

​I present to you: 10 tips on how to have an amazing VizConf 2018:

Have any tips for making the most of VizConf 2018? Post them in the comments below!

Ever since I started the bikablo® radio podcast I have been dreaming of the idea that one day I might have Sunni Brown on the show and record an interview with her. Well, things have moved much quicker than I expected, and I am very happy to announce that we will not only have Sunni Brown speaking at VizConf this year, but we also recorded a podcast episode last week with her:

In this bikablo® radio podcast episode, you will learn a lot about Sunni Brown’s life and her early years as an entrepreneur, from struggling to make a living to being one of the top speakers and best-selling authors in her field.
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For example, when Sunni was quite young she wrote a letter to her mother and told her that she either wanted to become a doctor or, if that didn't work out, the President of the United States. This might seem like just a funny letter from a young child but this letter has guided Sunni through her life. Not growing up in a privileged family she had to believe in herself and work hard for her success. This guiding principle actually led Sunni to her upcoming book,  Deep Self Design™, which is based on the idea that you are in control of your own life. In fact, our mind is often the biggest obstacle to why we don’t reach our full life potential.

We follow her journey step-by-step, from working for The Grove, one of the first visual thinking consultancies on the planet before she moved to Austin, Texas where she started her own business. We find out more about her work as an author and why writing a book is much like riding a dragon. We talk about her serendipitous invitation to TED 2011 and how she spent 4 months preparing for the 6-minute talk that has inspired more than 1.4 million people. We compare the skill of graphic recording with sketch noting, do a round of “speed questions” and brainstorm together about the upcoming keynote at VizConf. By the way, the conference is on the 13th of October and tickets are selling fast!

Our chat lasted more than 90 minutes, so we therefore cut this recording into two episodes. The first episode covers her childhood up until the release of her first book, Gamestorming, and her second book, The Doodle Revolution. It's full of inspiration for anyone who is creative or entrepreneurial.

In the second episode, we hear about her experience at TED, her keynote at VizConf, and her work on the upcoming book, Deep Self Design™​, which is all about helping you to reach your goals in life.

Enjoy this episode with Sunni Brown, recorded on the 18th of September 2018.

If you'd like to hear more episodes, please subscribe to the ​bikablo® radio podcast on iTunes or Soundcloud, or check out the Visual Friends podcast website. 

We talked with the facilitator of the VizConf Open Spaces sessions, Michelle Walker, about what people can expect from the day.​

Michelle, please share a few words about yourself.

I’ve been facilitating for 20 years, and one of the great things about doing the facilitation role is helping participants and groups make connections, share their knowledge and establish collaborations. And what's possible is so much greater than the sum of the individuals!

Through my company, Curious Minds Co. I have been specialising in visual facilitation, graphic recording, animated explainer videos, and providing training in these specialty areas.

So I’ve experienced firsthand the power of working visually, and have been an active member of the International Forum for Visual Practitioners—our global professional community—since 2011.

What is the Open Space Technology method?

Open Space Technology (OST) is an approach to conferences and gatherings where the people attending set the agenda. So it’s very liberating (and maybe a little daunting for some). The power of this format is that it leverages the energy in the room and what people who are present have a passion to discuss.

At the start of the day, as facilitator, I will call for people from the audience to come up to the front and name a topic that they want to host. It might be something they know something about and want to share, or maybe they have a question and want to get the wisdom and input from the group. You don't have to know all the answers to be a host!

Whatever the topic, you will announce it to the group and we will put it on the agenda for the day. In this way, we build the marketplace for the audience. When all the sessions have been declared, (and we can leave space for sessions that emerge throughout the day), the audience will then peruse the marketplace of sessions and decide which ones they wish to attend.

I remember the first 3-day event that I attended about 14 yrs ago in Hobart that was entirely Open Space, and it was exhilarating as a participant. All of the newness—actively contributing to ideas, relationships, and connections—really had an impact.

I ran my first large-scale (120+ people, 5 days) Open Space conference about 10 years ago, and the feedback from participants was so positive. Most had never experienced Open Space before, and they found it really gave them room to do the creative thinking and have the formative conversations that they needed to have in their community. After that, I was completely hooked!

Why is Open Space a good fit for this conference?

I love Open Space Technology for conferences and am so excited to be using it for VizConf in October. It really is so well suited for exploring creative topics like visual thinking.

One of the great things about what we have planned for the day is the combination of outstanding keynotes, from Sunni Brown and Jessamy Gee, with the Open Space sessions.

Why should people come to VizConf?

Come because you want to learn. Come because listening to Sunni Brown and Jessamy Gee will change your practice and the way you see your work. Come because you’ve got something to contribute—you want to share what you’ve learnt for the benefit of others. Come because you want to be a sponge and just soak up the people, ideas and juju of this tribe. Come because you want to be part of an emerging and growing field in this country.

Just come, and you’ll be delighted and surprised by what unfolds.

To say we're excited to have Sunni Brown presenting our opening keynote presentation at VizConf would not be doing justice to our ability to get excited. Sunni Brown! If you've spent any time exploring the world of visual thinking, then you're bound to have come across her amazing TED talk or leafed through one of her best-selling books. 

This will be Sunni's first visit to Australia, and Marcel and I are beyond proud to be bringing her to Melbourne to speak at VizConf. 

Don't miss your only chance to see Sunni speak in Australia! VizConf is a one-day conference on October 13 in Melbourne, Australia, for facilitators, graphic recorders, illustrators, and anyone interested in visual thinking. Register for VizConf 2018 now, before tickets are sold out!

We're delighted to announce the first of our two keynote speakers at VizConf 2018: Jessamy Gee from Think in Colour.

We're delighted to have Jessamy join the line-up for VizConf, and can't wait to hear what she has to say on the day.

VizConf is a one-day conference for facilitators, illustrators, graphic recorders, and visual thinkers of all walks of life. With only 100 tickets available, if you haven't registered for VizConf 2018 yet, you'd best hop to it! Secure your ticket now from www.vizconf.com.au/register.