Drawing Your Genius: How Visual Thinking Transforms Communication

In episode 137 of The Woodard Report Podcast, Heather Satterley sits down with Lisa Rothstein, cartoonist for The New Yorker and author of the new book Drawing Your Genius. Many attendees at this year’s Scaling New Heights conference experienced Lisa’s artistry firsthand as she sketched live storyboards during the main stage sessions, capturing complex ideas through simple, compelling visuals.

From drawing to storytelling 

Although Lisa is best known for her cartoons, she stressed that her true passion is messaging.  

“It’s really about being able to tell a story with pictures… that makes abstract concepts like finance and taxes and accounting… come alive...”  

By using hand-drawn illustrations, even non-artists can simplify technical explanations, engage clients, and ensure both advisor and client are literally on the same page. 

The three C’s of visual thinking 

Lisa explained her framework for simplifying drawings, which she calls the Three C’s:  

• Character: “That’s really drawing people… mostly emotions. Like the cartoonist knows that very few lines help express completely different emotions…” 

• Concepts: Symbols made from basic shapes, circles, squares, or lines, that can represent ideas depending on the context. 

• Context: Using metaphors and diagrams such as roads, bridges, or icebergs to connect ideas and explain processes.  

Together, these tools allow professionals to illustrate stories and client scenarios in a way that words alone cannot. 

Making clients feel seen 

Heather reflected on Lisa’s live drawings at Scaling New Heights, noting how they elevated the experience by capturing not just concepts but emotions. Lisa explained that’s exactly the point:  

“It’s not about being able to draw a pretty picture. It’s about being able to show people with their eyes, you are listening, you understand… even the fact that you drew out their problem, it’s like, ‘Yes, that’s exactly how I feel.’” 

This ability to visually validate clients can be powerful in sales and advisory conversations, turning abstract financial scenarios into tangible journeys and outcomes. 

From doodles to better memory 

Lisa also emphasized the cognitive benefits of drawing, even in private notetaking. Doodling while listening improves focus and long-term memory.  

“There’s a whole bunch of neuroscience that shows that when you involve your body and your eyes and your ears in something, you’re going to remember it better.”  

Visual notes, she said, allow people to recall not only the content but the context and emotions of a conversation, something standard written notes rarely achieve. 

A tool for accountants 

Accountants, Lisa noted, often struggle to bridge the gap between technical jargon and client comprehension. Visual thinking offers a solution:  

“You have your own language that all of you folks understand, but your customers and clients do not speak that language… Seeing a picture helps put even inside-baseball kinds of words into a context that they can go, ‘Oh, I see the relationship between those two things.’”  

Heather imagined how powerful it would be to sketch depreciation schedules or tax timelines for clients, reinforcing that firms can use this method both externally with clients and internally within teams. 

Final thoughts 

Lisa closed with an encouraging reminder: clarity, not artistic skill, is the goal.  

“The worse it looks, the better it works… The result you want is, ‘Oh, I understand what you’re saying.’”  

Her new book, Drawing Your Genius, provides step-by-step ways for professionals, including accountants, to bring this practice into their client work and firm culture. 

Listen to the full episode and subscribe to The Woodard Report Podcast

🎧 Listen to the full episode at woodard.com/podcast.

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to The Woodard Report Podcast on your favorite platform for weekly insights that move your practice—and your life—forward. 

Brex accounting partners close clients books faster, earn rewards for referrals and attract new customers all on Brex. Brex's integrated platform provides numerous accounting automation benefits, which enable your accountants to focus on premium advisory services, help clients close the books faster and elevate the overall client experience. To become a Brex accounting firm, visit brex.com/partners/accounting to apply.

This article was generated by AI and reviewed and edited by a human.