Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 75cbe4b744f4575d8f8e4e6e80fd0fbaf5eb71542a4e876769d4fe93f29d0484

# Storyboarding

Small groups map out a process, scenario, or user journey across a six- to eight-panel visual comic strip. Teams anchor the starting trigger and final outcome first, sketch the intermediate sequence with captions, and review each other's flows during a silent gallery walk.

**Time:** 60 minutes. 60 minutes matches the baseline agenda in WorkshopBank source records; can extend up to 90 minutes for deep refinement.
**People:** 4 to 24. Small groups of 3 to 5 participants working in parallel.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Make sequential transitions, assumptions, and operational gaps visible across a shared timeline.
**Use it when:** Use when a team needs to translate abstract plans, service workflows, or proposed changes into concrete step-by-step actions before implementation.
**Skip it when:** Skip during early divergent brainstorming when no clear concept exists, when analyzing non-sequential decisions, or when total workshop time is under 45 minutes.

## Materials and tools

- 1 large sheet of flip chart or A3 paper per subgroup (pre-divided into 6 to 8 rectangular panels)
- 1 pack of broad-tip colored markers per subgroup
- 2 pads of sticky notes per subgroup
- Wall-safe masking tape or adhesive putty for posting sheets
- Digital countdown timer visible to the room

## Before participants arrive

1. Draw a grid of 6 to 8 equal boxes on each group's paper (for example, two rows of three or four boxes).
2. Place paper, markers, and sticky notes at each small-group workstation.
3. Clear open wall space where all completed storyboards can hang at eye level.
4. Post the prompt and the identified perspective clearly on a central slide or board.

## Say this to open

Today we will map out our scenario as a visual comic strip in six to eight panels. We are focusing on sequence and concrete actions, not artistic ability. Stick figures, boxes, and text captions are preferred because they keep us focused on the logic. We will first lock down the beginning trigger and the final result, and then draw out the steps connecting them.

## How to run it

### 1. Frame the challenge and perspective (5 minutes)

Introduce the overall prompt, such as mapping a client onboarding flow or a project handoff. Name the central character or user perspective. Emphasize that rough sketches, stick figures, and brief text labels are expected. Show a quick 10-second example of a stick figure pushing a button.

### 2. Anchor the start and end panels (5 minutes)

Instruct groups to draw panel 1 first: show the starting trigger, who is present, and what problem starts the journey. Then immediately direct groups to draw the final panel (panel 6 or 8): show the completed result and what success looks like. Groups must leave the middle panels blank for now.

### 3. Sketch the intermediate narrative (25 minutes)

Groups work through the middle panels from left to right. Each panel must show who takes action, what is used, and what changes. Require a one-line caption beneath each box. Remind teams to pass the marker so multiple people draw. Call a midpoint alert at 12 minutes.

### 4. Post sheets and conduct silent gallery walk (10 minutes)

Teams tape their storyboards to the wall. Hand out sticky notes. Participants walk silently around the room, reading other storyboards. Everyone leaves at least one sticky note on other teams' boards marking an assumption, an operational question, or an overlooked handoff.

### 5. Hear brief narrations and debrief (15 minutes)

One speaker from each group gives a strict 60-second walkthrough of their sequence. Then facilitate a whole-room debrief using the posted questions, taking 3 to 4 spoken reflections across the room.


## Debrief questions

- Which panel caused the most debate or uncertainty within your group?
- What handoffs or missing steps became obvious only after drawing them out?
- Where did different groups make contrasting assumptions about the same process?

**Finished output:** Physical or digital 6- to 8-panel visual storyboards showing concrete steps, accompanied by sticky notes documenting flagged assumptions and gaps.

## Remote

Create an online whiteboard (such as Miro, Mural, or FigJam) with pre-drawn 6-frame templates for each breakout room. Provide built-in shape libraries, sticky notes, and drawing tools. Send small groups to breakout rooms for steps 2 and 3. Bring everyone to the main room for step 4, conducting the gallery walk by having participants pan across the boards and attach digital sticky notes. Use timer alerts for 60-second group narrations.

## Hybrid

Form distinct in-person and remote subgroups rather than mixing modes inside one small team. Remote teams use an online whiteboard while in-person teams draw on physical paper. An in-person facilitator photographs the physical sheets and uploads them to the virtual canvas before the gallery walk so all participants review the same boards.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may contribute via writing captions, organizing sticky notes, or narrating rather than drawing.
- Anyone may pass on speaking during the public gallery narration or choose to leave purely descriptive notes.
- Ensure markers have distinct contrast for participants with low vision.

## If the session gets stuck

**A group gets stuck obsessing over artistic quality or realistic drawings.**

Intervene immediately and set a two-minute countdown per box. Remind them that stick figures and text captions convey process logic better than detailed art.

**One participant takes sole control of the marker while others disengage.**

Direct the group to rotate the marker to a new person for every subsequent panel, or have non-drawing members write the captions.

**Panels describe vague corporate milestones like 'collaboration happens' instead of visible actions.**

Ask the team: 'What would a camera record in this room? Who sends what document, and who opens it?'


## Terms used here

- Panel: A single framed box in the sequence illustrating one distinct event or action.
- Handoff: The point where responsibility, information, or work passes from one person or system to another.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in WorkshopBank documentation. The source attributes original storyboarding concepts to Webb Smith at Walt Disney Productions in the 1930s.

Retained the 6-to-8 panel structure, anchoring panel 1 and the final panel first, and the silent gallery walk from WorkshopBank documentation. Adapted time into a precise 60-minute facilitation sequence with explicit hybrid, remote, and accessibility guidance added by UWT.

[WorkshopBank](https://workshopbank.com/tools/storyboarding)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/storyboarding-workshopbank/