Video Introduction

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Exchange baseline personal backgrounds and program expectations asynchronously before live group work begins.

Use it when: Use before an online or hybrid cohort kicks off when live introductory time is tight and participants need to see each other beforehand.

Skip it when: Skip when participants lack video recording tools, have restricted bandwidth, or have strong privacy policies against recording personal video.

Group arrangement: Individual recording followed by asynchronous viewing in cohorts of 4 to 6 people.

Timing: 15 minutes reflects the live kick-off wrap-up reviewing the videos. Individual asynchronous recording (3 to 5 minutes) and peer commenting (10 minutes) happen before the session.

Materials and tools

• Recording guide and prompt card sent in advance
• Secure video hosting platform or shared folder with commenting permissions
• Smartphones or webcams with microphone access

Before participants arrive

1. Create a private, access-restricted shared video space or thread.
2. Record and post a 60-second facilitator demonstration video following the prompt guide.
3. Send the prompt card and access instructions to participants 3 to 5 days before the first live meeting.

Say this to open

Welcome. Before today, everyone had a chance to share a 60-second video introduction answering our three prompt questions. Now we will spend 15 minutes connecting the threads from those clips so we do not spend our first hour going person by person around the screen.

How to run it

1. Acknowledge pre-work 3 minutes

   Open the live session. Confirm that participants can access the video board. State that anyone who could not record a video can share a written summary in the text chat during this time.

2. Review common themes 4 minutes

   Project 2 to 3 recurring themes, goals, or surprising points spotted across the submitted clips. Invite participants to scan the list and verify if it matches their expectations.

3. Small group check-in 5 minutes

   Place participants into breakout rooms or tables of 3 to 4 people. Instruct each person to share one interesting detail they learned from a partner's pre-recorded video or written chat response.

4. Debrief and transition 3 minutes

   Bring the full group back together. Take two short shares about common goals discovered in the videos, then transition to the main agenda.

Debrief questions

• What common goals or challenges showed up across the videos?
• What was one detail someone shared that changed how you view their role or context?

Finished output: A shared repository of short participant self-introductions and a set of shared cohort themes ready for group work.

Remote

Participants record clips on their devices, post to an unlisted private board or folder, and leave text comments on at least two peers' posts. In the live call, conduct the steps using breakout rooms and screen sharing.

Hybrid

In-person and remote participants both record videos and post to the common online platform prior to meeting. During the live session, in-person participants form small pods while remote attendees use an online breakout room.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may submit an audio-only clip or a 3-sentence written text bio with a static photo instead of a video.
• Allow participants to skip sharing personal hobbies and focus entirely on workplace goals or domain experience.

If the session gets stuck

Some participants did not complete their video before the live session.

Provide a 3-sentence text template in chat and give them 2 minutes to post their answers during step 1 without putting them on the spot.

Videos run too long and people stop watching them.

Enforce a strict 60-second cap in the initial instructions and show the timer in the facilitator's model clip.

Terms used here

• Asynchronous: Work done independently on a person's own schedule rather than together in real time.