--- title: "Storyboard" description: "Small groups define an ideal future state and draw a chronological series of scenes on flip-chart paper showing how to get there. Subgroups present their visual stories to uncover shared milestones and practical paths." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/storyboard/" --- # Storyboard Small groups define an ideal future state and draw a chronological series of scenes on flip-chart paper showing how to get there. Subgroups present their visual stories to uncover shared milestones and practical paths. **Time:** 55 minutes. Gamestorming suggests 45 to 90 minutes. UWT run sheet allocates 55 minutes for up to six subgroups. **People:** 4 to 24. Subgroups of 3 to 4 participants, capped at a maximum of 6 subgroups. For 13 people, run three groups of 3 and one group of 4. For 24 people, form exactly six groups of 4. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Produce a shared visual sequence of steps that lead to a specific desired future outcome. **Use it when:** Use during visioning sessions, project kickoffs, or planning meetings when a team needs to align on concrete milestones toward an ideal goal. **Skip it when:** Skip when the immediate session requires technical debugging, numerical budget modeling, or when participants lack basic clarity on project scope. ## Materials and tools - 1 pad of flip-chart paper per subgroup - 1 flip-chart stand or dedicated wall space per subgroup - 4 to 6 broad-tipped markers in different colors per subgroup - 5 to 10 sheets of blank scratch paper per subgroup - 1 roll of low-tack painter's tape per room - 1 visible countdown timer - Access to a shared digital canvas tool (such as Miro or Mural) for remote or hybrid sessions - Smartphones with cameras and board upload access for hybrid in-person teams ## Before participants arrive 1. Select and write the target topic on the main room board: The Ideal Future for [Topic]. 2. Set up working stations around the room with a flip-chart pad, markers, scratch paper, and wall space for each subgroup. 3. Confirm each station has wall space wide enough to hang 5 flip-chart sheets horizontally. ## Say this to open Our focus today is The Ideal Future for [Topic]. In your small groups, you will map out a story showing how we reach that ideal outcome. Agree on the destination, list three to five clear milestones on scratch paper, and draw each milestone on a separate flip-chart sheet. Stick figures, arrows, and short captions are all you need. You have twenty-five minutes across the drafting and drawing steps to complete your sequence. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce topic and assign stations (5 minutes) Present the focal topic. Divide participants into groups of 3 to 4, maintaining no more than 6 total subgroups. Direct each group to a station. Explain that each team must produce 3 to 5 sequential sheets showing the progression from current state to the ideal outcome. ### 2. Agree on outcome and plot steps (8 minutes) Teams discuss and agree on their specific ideal end state. They outline 3 to 5 distinct intermediate milestones on scratch paper before drawing on full sheets. Circulate to keep step counts between three and five. ### 3. Draw sequential storyboard panels (17 minutes) Teams draw each step as a large image on a separate flip-chart sheet, one sheet per milestone. Prompt teams to assign tasks such as sketcher, caption writer, and timekeeper. Give a two-minute warning before time expires. Teams tape their finished sheets chronologically along their assigned wall space. ### 4. Present storyboard narratives (15 minutes) Each subgroup takes up to 2 minutes to present their storyboard panels in sequence to the room. With up to 6 subgroups, presentations take 12 minutes total, leaving 3 minutes for room transitions. ### 5. Debrief common themes (10 minutes) Facilitator leads a plenary review using the debrief questions. Collect 2 to 3 observations per question. Record recurring milestones and notable differences on the main room board. ## Debrief questions - What common milestones appeared across multiple stories? - Which intermediate step felt most critical for reaching the ideal end state? - What realistic obstacle surfaced in the drawings that requires early planning? **Finished output:** A series of 3 to 5 sequential illustrated panels per group displayed on the wall, showing practical milestones leading to an ideal outcome. ## Remote Run breakout rooms of 3 to 4 people using a digital canvas tool. Provide each breakout with a row of 3 to 5 pre-drawn rectangular frames. Participants illustrate each frame using sticky notes, shapes, lines, or quick sketches. Return to the main room and have each subgroup take up to 2 minutes to share their canvas section while presenting. ## Hybrid Form distinct remote subgroups and in-person subgroups rather than mixed tables. Remote groups draw in a shared digital canvas. In-person groups draw on flip charts, photograph them using a personal smartphone, and post the images to the digital canvas. Both in-person and online participants view that canvas via room projection and screen sharing during all presentations. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may contribute through spoken storytelling, scripting captions, or sequencing steps without drawing. - Anyone who prefers not to present aloud may designate a team partner to narrate their group panel. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants stall out claiming they cannot draw.** Reassure them that visual clarity beats art. Instruct them to use simple stick figures, speech bubbles, block arrows, and clear text captions. **A group spends the entire drafting phase debating the destination without writing milestones.** Intervene by minute 4 of Step 2. Ask them to select the simplest proposed end state and immediately draft three rough milestones on scratch paper so they can begin drawing on time. ## Terms used here - Storyboard: A series of sequential illustrations or panels used to plan and visualize a narrative or process. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Gamestorming (gamestorming.com/storyboard), which attributes the storyboarding technique to Walt Disney during work on Steamboat Willie in 1928. Retained core Gamestorming mechanic of defining an ideal state, plotting sequential panels on flip-chart paper, and narrating the story. UWT added explicit group partitioning arithmetic, scratch paper drafting, a strict cap of up to 6 presentations at 2 minutes each, and concrete remote and hybrid guidelines. [Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/storyboard) [Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/storyboard/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/storyboard/