Big Groups on Zoom
Chad Littlefield
?? Creator of the We! Connect Cards | Host of the Connectors Summit | Co-author of Ask Powerful Questions | Answering Facilitator/Leader Questions Every Week on YouTube
I love them. Most don't. In this article I intend to share a handful of ideas that might change your mind.
Regularly, I get lovely messages requesting some "pick your brain" time. I enjoy these conversations very much and find that I simply don't have space in the day to say "yes" or respond to all. Recently, a wonderful human being reaching out with the request below. Underneath is my response with several links to ideas and resources you might love to use next time you are gathering a big group on Zoom.
His Request
Chad - Here's my situation: I just booked in a 90-minute virtual event with 60-70 attendees for next week, and it will be on the TEAMS platform.
The organization is going through lots of change.
They are having a big meeting to emphasize the benefits of the new combined platform and new market opportunities - the team is 100% remote, and spends most of their time on TEAMS calls with coworkers or clients
They want me to come in early in the "conference" to provide a bit of relief from virtual call fatigue, but also to inspire connection (with goals and coworkers) and commitment / personal ownership of team results. That said, I'm hoping you might suggest relevant and interactive ideas that would help to illustrate or open door of conversation for
- ...collaboration and benefits / success by sharing info
- ...taking initiative
- ...personally taking ownership of team results
- ... new talent adapting to an existing culture (lean and remote)
ok- so it's definitely a tall order for 90 minutes...
what ideas do you have?
Thanks ; )
My Response
Good stuff. Thanks for the context. So...admittedly, I've turned down engagements that utilize TEAMS with groups of this size—or I guide them toward hosting on my Zoom link. HOWEVER, I know the platform has got much better...how smooth are breakouts on TEAMS these days? That'll inform my suggestions of course. Below are my thoughts organized by the four topic areas your clients is wanting to bring to life.
...collaboration and benefits / success by sharing info
I've been loving "Collaborative Journaling." And here is a video tutorial: https://youtu.be/faAPPnsyuMk
...taking initiative
If the annotate tool in TEAMS is good enough, this would be a blast: https://weand.me/product/we-start-art/
...personally taking ownership of team results
Consider launching a poll with Peter Block's 4 "Ownership Questions." You could adapt them for team results: https://weandme.typeform.com/to/A35tvY then host a discussion or breakouts about the questions. I would suggest keeping individuals' answers anonymous though here.
... new talent adapting to an existing culture (lean and remote)
You could also use the Start Art template that features this "Same Old, Same Old vs. Create New" graphic/dynamic. If you already used one of these earlier, perhaps give the group a challenge to "adapt" to color in the graphic with uniformity or ask folks born Jan - March to do one color. April - June another, etc.
Alternatively, consider using a series of sentence stems or sentence completions. This will quickly infuse the opinions of 60-70 people. That data can then shape and inform how you facilitate a larger dialogue. Or spark a great prompt or dynamic to continue in breakout rooms. For example:
? When I get feedback, my first reaction is to _________.
You know the client best, so coming up with 3-5 of these, collecting all the data in the chat, then using that as fodder for discussion)
These are a few ideas. This video really clearly unpacks my 5 Ingredients for Engagement as well. Infusing all or even a few of these concepts will ensure your group has a fantastic experience. Personally, I now design all of my outlines for any session through this framework/timeline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAJ4LLnOUZk
Hope you enjoyed this semi-organized, guttural response to a real life question I received. There is a ton more where this came from right here: https://weand.me/free
Or subscribe to my YouTube channel for daily videos designed to help leaders and educators make connection and engagement easy: https://www.youtube.com/weandme
