• People are often shy of drawing and worried about having to perform. Be light and gently supportive. Some people will not draw under any circumstances. Help them work through the same questions by interview or writing words and phrases on a chart.

• Encourage people to draw freely and not get too formal with structures and organisation charts. Ask the client to explain the picture while you listen and explore her/his feelings.

• Notice the energy behind their description of the process. Be patient and wait until they have come out with a description that means something to them.

• Ask people for verbs and nouns to describe what they need to do to change things from the 'now' to the future process. Boil these down by voting "Which are the three verbs and nouns that appeal to you most?" Then distil these to find a strategic direction with vitality.

• Encourage the client to use this direction as a metaphor to inform their work or life in the future. Ask "What does this mean to you? How can you use it with your boss, colleagues, customers etc.?"

An example of the "pictures" process.

(These pictures are from a clip-art collection. In a real situation people will draw "stick people". The images, feelings and ideas are important, not the art.)

The preferred future state

Achieving calmly

The present state

Struggling Alone

Then ask the client to come up with strategic direction that gets you from "now" to the preferred "future". As above, "Standing Back". Then ask what that would mean and what the client would do in practice.

I usually use A4 paper in a one to one setting and flip chart paper in a group. In the latter case I encourage shared working at all stages. 

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