We’ve been going through a series on 7 Basics to Include In Your Sketch Notes.

I talked about how I like to Divide & Conquer my blank page so that it’s not mocking me with it’s flawless, pure and untouched fibers challenging me to draw designs worthy of it’s standards.

Yes, we decided that was dramatic.

But true.

Also, we talked dating.

Now let’s check out the next point.

Speaker

Pastor. Priest. Bishop. Evangelist. Teacher. Reverend. Prophet.

The list could go on. My point is that the first step in writing down the name of the person delivering the message is to know who it is.

Seriously?

Ok, you don’t have to know know them. Just know how to spell their name.

Honestly. Take it from someone who has had their name misspelled their entire life. With a name like Sherianne Rowena Ciaramitaro, I’ve had my name butchered more times than I care to count. It’s so bad, that I have a mental list of people who have spelled my name right and they hold a very special place in my heart.

Enough about that. Just please, spell their name right. If you must, google them or check their social media page. Something.

Why would it really matter if I even write the speaker’s name? I’ll tell you.

Imagine that one day you’re flipping through your journal and you come across this amazing, life-altering sketch note that just pierces your heart. You get lost in all of the deep, amazing words enlightening you as your eyes slowly scan the page.

But wait!

There’s no name on it! That must mean that I wrote those golden nuggets!

Alright, maybe you’re not like that, but I am. I have lots of journals and if there’s no name on a sketch, my first thought is whether I thought up those inspiring words.

Probably not. But I’ll never know.

Let’s move on.

Context

Read the next line out loud.

“I’ll be back” (The Terminator, 1984)

Let me guess. You read that quote in the voice of the one who spoke it. No?

Guess what. I know I’m strange, but when I go over my notes, I read them in the voice and energy of the speaker. It’s almost as if I can hear the message all over again. It revs me up again and again throughout the week!

If I don’t write the name of the speaker, I don’t know how to read it.

I’m lost. I don’t like being lost.

All this to say, knowing who the speaker was helps me keep things in context and relate back to when it was spoken.

I dare you to try it!