From Graphic Recording to Visual Coaching with Christina Merkley

A coaching podcast with Christina Merkley and Tobias Weghorn. They unpack graphic recording at conferences and how Christina's "visual coaching" work today goes deeper - combining visual work with the coach’s role of holding space, asking questions, and mirroring what clients say on a live canvas. You’ll hear how graphic facilitation works in real time (not just as “fun notes”), why listening and synthesis matter as much as drawing, and how visuals can support visioning and action planning. Christina also walks through her SHIFT-IT process, including life map coaching and the “alignment work” that helps when plans stall at the “trouble at the border” between where you are and where you want to be.Key Learnings:Use visual coaching to “capture and reflect back” what clients say: listen for the few key nuggets, condense them, and place them on a simple canvas clients can react to in the moment.Borrow from graphic recording and graphic facilitation by making the visual build live during the session; it can improve clarity, recall, and follow-through (especially when you turn visioning and action planning into something visible and revisitable).Add a life map coaching step (a quick lifeline or a fuller history map) to harvest patterns, beliefs, and turning points—then use alignment work when the client’s stated goals and actual behavior don’t match.Resources:Book a visual coaching with Christina: https://www.shift-it-coach.com/services/private-coaching/Christina Merkley’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-merkley-0790b33/Try the visual coaching platform: https://metafox.onlineFind your (physical) Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.euConnect with Tobi on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghornEpisode Chapters:00:01 Visual Coaching Beyond Graphic Recording00:05 Graphic Facilitation vs. Static Visuals (Interactive, Live, Fast)00:08 From Conference Graphic Recording to Deeper 1:1 Visual Coaching00:13 The “Four Animals”: Studio Work vs. Process Work00:18 How Graphic Recording Works: Listening, Synthesis, and “Gold Nuggets”00:22 What Visuals Do to a Room (Attention, Buffering Intensity, Recall)00:31 Visual Coaching with Individuals: From Strategy to Somatics and Trauma Awareness00:33 SHIFT-IT + Life Map Coaching, Visioning and Action Planning, and Alignment Work00:45 Where to Find Christina (Shift-It-Coach.com)