Virtual Charades

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Practice non-verbal interpretation and shared observation during an online meeting opening.

Use it when: Use at the start of a remote meeting when you want an energetic, non-verbal warmup that gets people looking at the screen.

Skip it when: Skip when participants have low-bandwidth connections, cannot use cameras, or are attending in public spaces where physical movement is restricted.

Group arrangement: Whole group with individual performers taking turns while everyone else guesses, or two alternating squads.

Timing: Based on the 15-to-30 minute band in source materials, structured here as a concise 15-minute game.

Materials and tools

• List of prompt phrases (provided in participant materials)
• Video conferencing platform with chat and spotlight features
• Digital countdown timer

Before participants arrive

1. Prepare the list of prompt phrases to private-message to actors.
2. Check that the video chat function is active and accessible to all attendees.

Say this to open

We will play a quick round of Virtual Charades. One person at a time will act out a phrase on camera without speaking or mouthing words. Everyone else will type their guesses into the chat. When someone guesses correctly or the minute runs out, we will switch to the next actor.

How to run it

1. Explain convention signals 3 minutes

   Explain the rules: no talking, no mouth movements, and no props. Teach three standard camera gestures: holding up fingers to show word count, tugging an earlobe for 'sounds like', and rolling hands for 'keep guessing, close'. Demonstrate an example clue like 'reading a book'.

2. Send clue and start first turn 3 minutes

   Ask for a volunteer actor or call on a pre-assigned player. Send them a secret prompt via private chat. Spotlight their video feed. Start a 60-second timer. The actor acts while everyone else types guesses into the main chat. Stop the clock when the phrase is correctly named.

3. Run subsequent rounds 6 minutes

   Run 3 to 4 more rounds with new volunteers, sending each a fresh prompt from the prepared list. Keep each turn strictly to 60 seconds maximum. Confirm correct guesses in chat and thank each actor.

4. Debrief the exercise 3 minutes

   Bring the group together. Ask 1 or 2 reflective questions to the whole room, inviting 2 to 3 verbal responses or broad chat feedback before transitioning to the meeting agenda.

Debrief questions

• Which gestures were easiest to read on screen, and why?
• What made guessing challenging over a video grid compared to in person?

Finished output: Four to five prompt rounds completed with guesses verified in chat.

Remote

Run via video meeting. The facilitator private-messages prompts to actors. Spotlight the active actor. All other participants submit guesses in the written chat box.

Hybrid

If some members are in a shared room, have in-person actors stand in front of the room camera. Remote actors spotlight their individual feeds. In-person attendees type guesses into a shared room chat terminal or call them out while a designated scribe enters them into chat.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may opt to be guessers exclusively instead of acting on camera.
• Actors with limited mobility can adapt clues to hand gestures or facial expressions.
• Anyone may pass on taking an acting turn by saying pass in private chat.

If the session gets stuck

Video lag makes silent clues choppy or hard to interpret.

Ask the actor to slow their movements down by half and repeat key gestures distinctly.

Nobody volunteers to act on camera.

Facilitator takes the first turn to demonstrate, then passes the next clue to a willing co-host or partner.

Terms used here

• Spotlight: A video meeting setting that locks a single participant's video feed as the primary view for everyone.