Storyboard

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.

Group arrangement: 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.

Timing: Gamestorming suggests 45 to 90 minutes. UWT run sheet allocates 55 minutes for up to six subgroups.

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.