Life Map

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Help team members learn about each other's backgrounds and turning points through participant-controlled visual storytelling.

Use it when: Use with newly formed teams, cohorts, or groups integrating new members during an orientation or kickoff session.

Skip it when: Skip when team members lack psychological safety, during acute conflict, or when the group has less than 45 minutes available.

Group arrangement: Individual drawing, then groups of 3 to 4. For 5 participants, form one group of 5 with 3 minutes per person.

Timing: Teampedia suggests 20 to 40 minutes for drawing plus sharing time. UWT standardizes this session to 45 minutes using small groups to keep sharing manageable.

Materials and tools

• Blank paper (letter size or larger, 1 sheet per person)
• Drawing utensils (pens, markers, or colored pencils, at least 2 per person)
• Digital whiteboard or blank slide template (for remote participants)
• Countdown timer
• Prepared example sketch on flip chart or slide showing 2 to 3 simple symbols

Before participants arrive

1. Place drawing paper and markers at every participant seat.
2. Prepare a sample sketch on a flip chart or slide showing simple icons (such as a winding road, a bridge for moving cities, and a sun for a new start).
3. Arrange seating so tables can easily break into pods of 3 or 4 people.

Say this to open

Take a sheet of paper and markers. You will draw a visual map of your life from birth to today. Use simple icons, lines, or quick sketches to mark key turning points, shifts, or memorable chapters. Artistic skill does not matter; stick figures and short words work well. You decide what to include and what to keep private.

How to run it

1. Introduce the map prompt 3 minutes

   Speak the opening script. Point to the prepared sample sketch showing simple milestones, like a stick figure next to a bridge for relocating or a stop sign for changing careers. Emphasize that each participant chooses their own comfort level of personal disclosure. Address drawing reluctance immediately by reminding everyone that stick figures and text labels are welcome.

2. Draw life maps individually 20 minutes

   Participants work silently and individually on their maps. Announce a halfway check at 10 minutes and a two-minute warning at 18 minutes. Participants who finish early can add color, clarify dates, or label key moments.

3. Share in small groups 16 minutes

   Split the room into groups of 3 or 4. If 5 participants are present, run a single group. Each person takes up to 4 minutes (3 minutes if in a group of 5) to share their map and highlight two or three key moments. Each pod assigns a peer timekeeper to watch the clock. Listeners ask brief clarifying questions if time remains within each turn.

4. Debrief as a whole group 6 minutes

   Bring the full room back together. Ask 2 or 3 volunteers to answer one of the debrief questions. Conclude the exercise on time.

Debrief questions

• What common themes, turning points, or patterns did you notice across different stories?
• How did drawing your story visually change what you chose to highlight compared to a standard spoken introduction?

Finished output: A completed personal visual map on paper or digital board, retained by the participant.

Remote

Use a shared digital board with one dedicated frame per person, or invite participants to draw on physical paper and hold it up to the camera. Run the sharing phase in breakout rooms of 3 to 4 people. Participants track their own 4-minute speaking turns inside each breakout room.

Hybrid

Pair remote participants with other remote participants in virtual breakout rooms. In-person participants work in local pods of 3 to 4. If mixed pods are required, have each pod huddle around a shared laptop with an external microphone and angle paper toward the webcam.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may write text lists, bullet points, or short phrases instead of drawing symbols if preferred.
• Participants hold complete ownership over what events they include and may choose to share only professional milestones or general life phases without disclosing sensitive personal details.
• Participants may pass on presenting and instead serve as their small group's timekeeper.

If the session gets stuck

Participants express anxiety about drawing ability.

Remind the group that stick figures, simple lines, and single words are completely fine. Reiterate that the map is a communication tool, not an art contest.

One person dominates the small-group sharing time.

Instruct groups to assign a dedicated peer timekeeper with a phone timer set to 4 minutes per speaker. The facilitator announces a general halfway signal at 8 minutes for the overall small-group phase without interrupting individual speakers.

An odd participant count prevents neat groups of 3 or 4.

For 5 people, form a single group of 5 and reduce speaking turns to 3 minutes each. For larger odd counts like 7, form one group of 3 and one group of 4.

Terms used here

• Life Map: A visual timeline using symbols, drawings, and road-map metaphors to chart significant events in a person's life.