METHODS

Speed Dating (online/live): Speed dating works very well in online meetings, also with large groups. Use the automatic group formation of video conference systems to generate pairs (2 people per break out room). Announce that participants are supposed to turn on their cameras and that each session will last 2-3 min after which participants will be taken back to the main room. You can also give an impulse such as: “Start with a colour”; “Include a number”… It is recommended do at least 2-3 sessions (for the first one you can give participants 1 min extra to get organized). The method can also be used in live settings (people then can form two lines, facing each other and move one place forward for each session).

This method gives a big group of people the chance to get active, it raises the numbers of speakers and helps them to quickly enter direct exchange. It furthermore raises the numbers of cameras turned on in online sessions (afterwards).

Through my Window (online): For this exercise, ask participants in a video conference to share what they see, when they look out of their window by carying their laptop/camera to show the view. Ask everyone to turn off their camera and only turn it on, one after another, when they want to “broadcast”. You can also ask participants to say one word or a sentence while their camera is turned on. The video system will usually show the active camera to everybody, and the order of “presentations” usually works out organically.

The method gives interesting insights into the surrounding and living circumstances of participants. It allows people to share without being pressured and the additional statements can intensify the creative perspectives.

Reflecting Movement (online): Individual movements in the little screens in the video conference software are used as an impulse to generate further movement as a group experience. Ask participants to turn on their cameras and select the view in which they can see many other people. Now start the exercise by copying a movement that you can see in one of the screens and ask people to do the same. Very quickly the whole audience will start moving, picking up impulses here and

there, some movements getting stronger and are picked up by many participants – taking over and transforming the participants into a collective body.

This method only takes 1-2 min and can be used as a wake-up exercise after a break or to structure and give a short impulse in a longer meeting. It furthermore helps to intensify the attention towards faces and movements of the fellow group members.

My Private/Safe Space (online): For this exercise, participants in a video conference can share a personal or private space (in their home or environment) by moving their laptop/camera to show the view. Ask everyone to turn off their camera and only turn it on, one after another, when they want to “broadcast”. Ask participants to say one word or a sentence on what the space means to them while their camera is turned on. The video system will usually show the active camera to everybody, and the order of “presentations” usually works out organically.

The method gives interesting insights into the surrounding and living circumstances of participants. It allows people to share without being pressured and the additional statements can intensify the creative perspectives.