Digital Presence

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Audit public professional profiles to identify differences between in-person reputation and online visibility.

Use it when: Use during onboarding, professional development, or career transition workshops where participants want direct feedback on how they appear to external partners or employers online.

Skip it when: Skip when participants have strong privacy concerns, lack internet access during the session, or work in roles where public digital footprints are discouraged or restricted.

Group arrangement: Subgroups of 3 or 4. Any total N >= 8 partitions into trios and quartets using 3a + 4b = N. For smaller groups: 4 is one quartet; 6 is two trios; 7 is one quartet and one trio. For 5, run one trio and one pair.

Timing: Relationship Makers Handbook suggests 15 to 30 minutes; 25 minutes allows peer search, timed rounds of feedback, grid reflection, and brief action planning.

Materials and tools

• One printed Four Quadrants Audit Worksheet per participant (or digital equivalent)
• One pen or pencil per participant
• One internet-connected smartphone or laptop per participant
• Scratch paper (optional, for remote participants sketching their own grid)

Before participants arrive

1. Ensure stable guest Wi-Fi access.
2. Print copies of the Four Quadrants Audit Worksheet.
3. Pre-arrange chairs into clusters of 3 to 4.

Say this to open

Form groups of three or four. Today we will look at how our public professional footprint matches how we actually work in person. You will search for each other online, share neutral observations, and note adjustments you want to make on your worksheet.

How to run it

1. Form groups and swap handles 3 minutes

   Participants form groups of 3 or 4 following the stated group format rules (a quartet for 4; a trio and a pair for 5; two trios for 6; a quartet and a trio for 7). Each person shares their full name and one preferred professional handle or platform link with their group. The facilitator delivers the opening script.

2. Cross-search public profiles 5 minutes

   Group members search for each other on public web search engines and professional platforms. They look at what appears on the first page of results, noting existing profiles, vertical trade directories, and gaps. Everyone remains silent during this search phase.

3. Subgroup peer feedback 8 minutes

   Subgroups share observations one person at a time. The facilitator calls time checks every two minutes so each person receives focused feedback. In quartets, every member receives two minutes. In trios or pairs, any remaining time within the eight minutes is used for general subgroup discussion. Peers report what information was easy to locate, what seemed outdated, and how closely the search results resemble the person today.

4. Fill the four quadrants grid 5 minutes

   Working individually, each participant fills out the Four Quadrants Audit Worksheet: In-Person Reality, Current Digital Footprint, Gaps and Outdated Elements, and Next 30-Day Focus. Participants may choose to keep their notes private.

5. Plenary debrief and commitment 4 minutes

   Reconvene the full room. Call for two or three voluntary shares addressing the debrief questions. Remind participants that anyone who wants peer accountability may exchange contact details with a partner to check in on their 30-day update.

Debrief questions

• What was the most obvious disconnect between how someone presents in person versus what appears on their search results?
• What is one simple change that immediately makes an online profile match current reality more accurately?

Finished output: A completed Four Quadrants Audit Worksheet with at least one concrete action item to update professional profiles.

Remote

Use breakout rooms of 3 to 4. Participants drop their professional profile links into the breakout chat. Provide the worksheet as an editable document or let people sketch four boxes on scratch paper. Return to the main room for text-chat sharing of one action commitment.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants together and assign remote participants to separate remote breakout rooms so all peer profile searching and screen viewing remain equitable.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may opt out of peer searching and instead audit their own search results privately.
• Participants can choose to use an alias or search a past project portfolio rather than a personal name.
• Sharing worksheet contents with peers or the room is strictly optional.

If the session gets stuck

A participant has no public online presence or has an extremely common name that yields hundreds of irrelevant results.

Search using their name alongside their company, city, or professional field. If still blank, use the time to identify the single public profile that would be most useful to establish.

A participant expresses concern about personal privacy or finding uncomfortable personal records.

Remind everyone that searches are strictly limited to professional platforms and public business profiles. Offer the choice to self-audit in private.

Terms used here

• Four Quadrants: A simple 2x2 grid used to categorize current state, gaps, and future actions.
• Vertical sites: Specialized websites or directories dedicated to a single industry or trade, such as GitHub for developers or Behance for designers.