Beyond Words: A Guide to Drawing Out Ideas [Paperback]

Milly Sonneman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997

This colorful, offbeat business guide—sort of THINKERTOYS meets SARK—shows how to add zip, interaction, and excitement to just about any kind of meeting or presentation. The author has helped everyone from engineers to corporate planners create stunning visual presentations, showing them how to use visual symbols and color to map out ideas, plans, projections, and the like. Even if you can't draw a straight line, this book will have you doodling away like a pro in no time flat, and turning the most boring planning sessions into whiz-bang think tanks. Even the most pinstriped project teams have found these tools useful when mapping out strategic plans, capturing vision sessions, depicting project designs, or making training programs fun and memorable. Real-life success stories and step-by-step drawing hints make this the must-have book for managers, facilitators, trainers, and anyone who helps groups work together.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The purpose of this book is to demonstrate in easy, concrete steps that anyone can draw well enough to enhance his or her communication skills. Milly Sonneman takes you through initially simple and then progressively more advanced steps that can teach any person, in spite of self-doubts, how to make compelling drawings that will clarify ideas and make them more interesting. Sonneman stresses that your body already knows how to draw and teaches you how to listen to it and learn. This is a fantastic book for teachers, for people who do business presentations, and for anybody who wants to draw for the fun of it!

About the Author

Milly Sonneman is the founder of Hands-On Graphics, a graphic communication and training company with clients including many Fortune 500 companies. Milly is committed to helping you connect with your creativity and learning to use a simple graphic language to enhance communication in your work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898159113
• ISBN-13: 978-0898159110
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surpass your colleagues and engage other in the room, February 19, 2004

By 

"bluepostcard" (Easton, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Words: A Guide to Drawing Out Ideas (Paperback)

If you are spending 2 hours to make the perfect PowerPoint, this book gives you the confidence to make your own drawings, pictorals, and basic diagrams on any whiteboard or paper easel. I was a statitican (so you know I can't draw) but often needed to work out ideas of my own and in groups. The simple pictures learned in this book helps everyone understand the discussion that's going on. Connect words, ideas, and your audience with esy to draw colorful pictograms of your ideas.

Not sure if you can draw, the publishers sample made me get the book.
http://www.handsongraphics.com/index.htm
click on animated guy.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent how-to resource for the "Artistically challenged!, October 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond Words: A Guide to Drawing Out Ideas (Paperback)

Milly has been able to show in concise, clear terms and through visual example, how easy it is to draw basic images for illustrating anything. An excellent resource for trainers, presenters and anyone designing flip charts or other graphic materials to aid in communicating a message.An excellent tie-in to the workshops that she conducts around the country.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Dog can learn new tricks, July 16, 2005

By 

F. Bayley "kiteline" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Words: A Guide to Drawing Out Ideas (Paperback)

All my 50 years I was convinced i could not draw and I was not artistic. This book proved me wrong. Quickly my intuitive mind grasped the concepts and I started drawing. Folks comment all the time how long I have been drawing. Their jaws drop when I tell them for only a year. This book's style was instrumental in making it easy to enjoy drawing.