Lisa Rothstein, The New Yorker Cartoonist

#179: How to Draw out Your Genius With Visual Storytelling

#179: How to Draw out Your Genius With Visual Storytelling

Have you ever been telling a story and your words failed you? I don’t mean that you didn’t have a word for what you’re thinking or feeling. But they weren’t enough to express exactly what you wanted to say, or your audience wasn’t understanding the message.

Maybe you should have drawn it out. It turns out that doodling lines and shapes make an even more meaningful and unforgettable story. 

If you’re like me, you probably think you don’t have the chops to draw. Or, you’re probably thinking, “How can shapes and stick figures add relevance to the words I’m saying? Or writing?”

Fortunately, my guest this week, Lisa Rothstein, is a published New Yorker cartoonist and a featured author and illustrator in several best-selling books. She’s an award-winning ad agency copywriter and creative director best known for the famous “Just Wait’ll We Get Our Hanes on You” campaign that changed America’s favorite underwear brand. Currently, she’s co-author of the blog and upcoming book, The DaVinci Dilemma: How Multi-Talented People Can Get More Done And Get More Joy Out Of Life.

She uses unique methods like cartooning to help corporations and entrepreneurs see their ideal clients, products, mission and brand stories in new and unforgettable ways. Today, she’s guiding our hands to doodle with confidence. 

Lisa will help you discover a unique way of telling and expressing your story. Consider this a new option and means of expression. This way, we are able to explore different styles and techniques that can help us capture the most meaningful stories of our lives. 

Bottom line? It really doesn’t matter if you’re good at drawing. Words or pictures alone aren’t as meaningful, so get out there and start doodling to help your audience truly understand your stories.

In This Episode, You Will Learn

• Why words can fall short in storytelling, even for us “good writers”
• Why hand-drawings or “doodles” are better at expressing ideas than photos
• How and why my first New Yorker cartoon went viral
• How drawings help in storytelling and in “drawing people together”
• Why “I can’t draw” is a lie — and how everyone can get started using their own doodles in their communication

Key Quotes

“A picture is a faster way of getting people on the same page.” — Lisa Rothstein

“People are hardwired to pictures. That’s why pictures work. People get it right away.” —Lisa Rothstein

“Words becomes more meaningful if you add a visual element to it. That gets way better attention.” — Lisa Rothstein

“Marry words and pictures together. It doesn’t have to be good art. As long as it makes sense to people.” — Park Howell

Mentioned In This Episode

• Gary Larson
• TedxGilbert Talk with Park Howell
• Just Wait’ll We Get Our Hanes on You Campaign
• DaVinci Dilemma: How Multi-Talented People Can Get More Done And Get More Joy Out Of Life
• Charles Dickens
• Mad Magazine
• How To Survive Your Freshman Year
• The New Yorker Daily Cartoon: Wednesday, June 13th by Lisa Rothstein
• Lisa Rothstein: Draw Your Client
• Real Fast Doodle Profits
• Lisa Rothstein Instagram
• Lisa Rothstein Twitter
• Lisa Rothstein LinkedIn
• Lisa Rothstein Website

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