How do NLs plan a trip? Often with a doodle, especially if they are talking about the trip to someone. After all, a strength most NLs share is visual thinking. Forget a list. Can you tell what activities Ivor planned for this trip?
Many times a nonlinear thinker finds it easier to express their thoughts in visual models than in words. They may sketch a map for directions, use a white board to lay out a project overview or draw a doodle to convey the big picture like the one of Ivor’s planned vacation.
When someone likes to draw it rather than talk about it, they may be a visual-spatial thinker which means they think in 3D mental models. They easily see the whole picture in their mind’s eye and are rapid information processors. They are often unable to fully articulate what they see before they’re on to the next images.
For someone who is highly visual in their thinking, doodling during a meeting or conversation is a way to remember the flow of information that is shared. The doodles act like bookmarks or road signs for memory recall. To a student who doodles during a class lecture, that doodle is worth a thousand words since it probably captures the entire lecture and might reduce time reviewing the textbook when test time rolls around. The seemingly simple act of doodling is a way for nonlinear thinkers to leverage their natural visual-spatial intelligence. If you doodle how does it help you?