Cover Story

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Articulate an expansive, shared vision of future success using standard magazine layout elements.

Use it when: Use during visioning or strategic planning sessions to encourage teams to look beyond short-term constraints.

Skip it when: Skip when the immediate task requires near-term tactical planning, operational troubleshooting, or hard budget balancing.

Group arrangement: Small groups of 4 to 6 people. If numbers do not divide evenly (such as 7 or 13), form groups of 3 to 7 or assign spare participants to an existing group of their choice.

Timing: SessionLab lists 30 to 90 minutes. UWT standardizes on 60 minutes for a complete draft, group shareouts, and thematic debrief.

Materials and tools

• One large poster or flipchart sheet pre-drawn with the Cover Story template per group
• Thick marking pens in multiple colors (3 to 4 per group)
• Sticky notes (one pad per group)
• Scratch paper (one sheet per participant)
• Printed Cover Story Poster Guide (one copy per table or displayed on screen)
• Wall-safe masking tape to mount posters

Before participants arrive

1. Draw the template sections on flipchart paper for each table: Cover, Headlines, Sidebars, Quotes, Brainstorm, and Images.
2. Distribute markers, sticky notes, scratch paper, and the poster guide to each table.

Say this to open

Imagine our organization achieved an outcome so remarkable that we landed on the front cover of a major magazine. We are going to capture that story. Take a look at the poster: the Cover is the big narrative; Headlines convey key achievements; Sidebars share interesting facets; Quotes show what users or partners say; Images illustrate the scene; and Brainstorm is where you draft your rough notes. You will first spend five quiet minutes imagining your ideal scenario, then combine your ideas into one front-page story.

How to run it

1. Introduce layout and template 5 minutes

   Explain the goal and review the template zones: Cover, Headlines, Sidebars, Quotes, Brainstorm, and Images. Point out the printed poster guide on tables. Answer clarifying questions.

2. Individual silent reflection 5 minutes

   Participants work silently, jotting personal ideas for headlines, quotes, or milestones on scratch paper or sticky notes. Everyone works independently without group critique.

3. Small group story creation 30 minutes

   Groups share individual notes and decide on a unified storyline. They choose whether to assign a scribe or draw collaboratively. They fill out each section of their poster with text and simple sketches. Stop when the timer reaches 30 minutes.

4. Group vision presentations 12 minutes

   Reconvene the full room. Each group presents their cover title, primary headline, one quote, and their central image. Allocate 2 minutes per group (allowing up to 6 groups to present within the window). A group may pass or choose one volunteer to speak.

5. Thematic debrief 8 minutes

   Facilitate a short whole-room discussion noting recurring themes, boldest assumptions, and shared priorities across the covers.

Debrief questions

• What common themes or aspirations appeared across all the covers?
• Which imagined milestone surprised you the most?
• What underlying strengths in our current work make parts of these stories plausible?

Finished output: One completed Cover Story poster per group illustrating an ambitious future state.

Remote

Use a digital whiteboard with pre-built Cover Story frames for each breakout room. Split participants into breakout rooms of 4 to 6. Give groups 30 minutes to populate stickies, text boxes, and digital images. Return to the main room for 2-minute screen-share presentations.

Hybrid

Keep remote attendees in their own dedicated virtual breakout group using an online whiteboard canvas. Give them an assigned presenter to screen-share their board to the room during the presentation phase. In-person tables build physical posters.

Access and participation choices

• Visual drawing is optional; groups may describe imagery with text or bullet lists instead of sketching.
• Participants may contribute ideas via written sticky notes instead of speaking aloud during group drafting, or pass on presenting.

If the session gets stuck

Groups get stuck debating realistic budgets or technical feasibility.

Remind participants that this exercise deliberately suspends current disbelief to capture long-term intent, not immediate implementation plans.

One dominant voice takes over the poster design.

Prompt the team to give each member a dedicated section (for example, one person drafts quotes, another drafts sidebars).

Terms used here

• Sidebar: A short, secondary news box accompanying the main article to highlight a specific detail, milestone, or human-interest aspect.