In late 2024, we are well past the height of COVID, yet many of us still find ourselves attending virtual meetings. Unfortunately, a lot of those meetings have fallen into bad habits—becoming passive, dull, and filled with consumption-only content, especially when large groups are involved.
If you’re here, you’re probably looking to break that trend and bring real connection back into your virtual team-building efforts. I’m going to show you how I lead phenomenal virtual team-building sessions for large organizations like Intel, State Farm Insurance, and the U.S. Space Force. These activities work across various platforms and are all about meaningful engagement.
Why Virtual Team Building Still Matters
We’ve settled into using virtual meeting spaces, but the truth is, many of these gatherings are less than stellar. The chat becomes a dumping ground for “Where are you calling in from?” and breakouts are often avoided. But here’s the deal: virtual team-building can be exciting, purposeful, and interactive, even for large groups.
You can’t build a team if there’s no interaction. So, let’s dive into how you can build stronger virtual connections with these activities, starting with one of my favorites.
1. Collaborative Journaling
Collaborative journaling is a simple but powerful exercise that scales effortlessly, even with groups of 500 or more. The idea is that each participant brings their own unique life experience and perspective. When given the right prompt, you can harness all that knowledge in the chat, making the conversation rich and meaningful.
How it Works:
- Choose a thoughtful prompt like, “What is something you’d like to do more of?” Ask participants to answer in 10 words or more. This goes beyond the standard “Where are you from?” icebreaker.
- Set a timer for two minutes and have everyone free-write their response. Then, ask everyone to press “Enter” at the same time. This prevents groupthink and ensures thoughtful, individual responses.
- Afterward, give participants a few minutes to scroll through and read what others wrote. You can even assign a mission: find a response you resonate with, or reply to someone’s answer to continue the conversation.
The magic of this activity is that 500 people can share meaningful thoughts in just two minutes. It’s introvert-friendly and creates opportunities for deeper connections. You might even discover a colleague you want to connect with further down the line.
2. Advanced Collaborative Book Writing
For a more advanced activity, try collaborative book writing. I used this with a group of 150 speakers and facilitators, and in just 10 minutes, we co-wrote a 60,000-word book!
How it Works:
- Come up with a series of prompts. For example, “What’s your favorite coaching question to ask a client?”
- Participants submit their answers via a form. In just a few minutes, you’ll gather a wealth of knowledge.
- Using AI tools, you can quickly format and compile responses into a readable document. Share it with the group the next day, and they’ll have a tangible takeaway that captures the brilliance of the entire team.
3. Breakout Groups Based on Poll Responses
Zoom introduced a brilliant feature that allows you to split people into breakouts based on their poll responses. This feature is a game-changer for large groups and can make breakouts much more purposeful.
How it Works:
- Send out a poll with options like “Would you rather talk about cats, dogs, or a work project?”
- With one click, Zoom will group participants based on their responses, but you can further refine it by setting the size of each breakout group (e.g., groups of five).
- This creates a conference-like experience where participants choose the discussions they want to be part of. It’s seamless and ensures everyone ends up in a conversation that matters to them.
4. We! Connect Cards (Digital Version)
I’ve created a deck of cards called We! Connect Cards—perfect for building connections in both in-person and virtual settings. Inspired by COVID, we also developed a digital version that anyone can access. There’s no email signup required—just scan a QR code, and you’re in.
How it Works:
- During a virtual session, I display a QR code. Participants scan it with their phones, which takes them to the digital We! Connect Cards.
- Each participant selects a question they’d like to answer, and we use the chat to continue the collaborative journaling exercise. People answer prompts that matter to them, leading to richer and more personal discussions.
The digital version also includes We! Engage Cards, with quotes on one side and images on the other, allowing for more creative and meaningful virtual engagement.
5. Connectors Summit: A Virtual Event
If you want to see these activities in action, I’m hosting the Connectors Summit, a live virtual event packed with interactive exercises and deeper learning. We’ll dive into virtual team-building strategies, hot seating, and personalized sessions based on the real challenges you’re facing in your work.
The Connectors Summit is an opportunity to experience how creative virtual events can be, so if you’re ready to see these ideas in practice, I’d love for you to join me. Check out the link for more information.
I’m Chad Littlefield. There are 500 other videos like this with really useful stuff. Consider subscribing. Have an awesome day!