Draw a Scene: A Collaborative Team Icebreaker
Kickstart your remote meetings with this energizing drawing activity that gets everyone engaged and collaborating within minutes. Draw a Scene is a simple yet powerful icebreaker where team members collectively create an illustration—revealing insights about team dynamics while having fun.
What Is Draw a Scene?
Draw a Scene is a collaborative visual exercise where your entire team works together to create a single illustration. Beyond just being an engaging way to start a meeting, this activity serves as a microcosm of your team's collaboration style, decision-making processes, and communication patterns.
The beauty of this exercise lies in its simplicity: there are minimal rules, leaving space for the team to self-organize and create their own process. How the team approaches this seemingly straightforward task often mirrors how they work together on actual project challenges.
Benefits & When to Use
- Energizes remote teams at the beginning of retrospectives or planning sessions
- Breaks down communication barriers by engaging team members in a non-verbal, creative activity
- Reveals hidden team dynamics through observation of how decisions are made and work is divided
- Creates a low-pressure environment for introverts to contribute equally
- Generates talking points that can lead into more structured meeting activities
This activity is particularly effective when introducing new team members, after a period of challenging work, or when you notice communication patterns that could use refreshing.
How to Run a Draw a Scene Session
Set up the activity (2 minutes)
- Start a meeting to become the facilitator and enable the Marker Pen tool
- Announce that everyone will be creating one drawing together
Choose a theme (3 minutes)
- Either provide a prompt (see suggestions below) or facilitate a quick team decision on what to draw
- For development teams, consider themes that relate to your work environment or team impact
Establish ground rules (2 minutes)
- Decide as a group: Will you plan first or just start drawing?
- Will there be any coordination of who draws what, or is it free-form?
- Emphasize that artistic skill is not important—participation is
Draw together (5-10 minutes)
- Set a timer and encourage everyone to contribute to the drawing
- Observe how the team coordinates (or doesn't) as they work
Reflect and discuss (5 minutes)
- Once time is up, ask everyone to step back and observe the creation
- Facilitate a brief discussion about the process:
- How did decisions get made?
- Did anyone take leadership roles?
- Were there any interesting moments of collaboration?
- Does the drawing process reflect how you work on real projects?
Recommended Drawing Themes
- The perfect (or worst!) working environment for the team - Reveals what team members value in their workspace
- The team's effect on the world / customers / company - Highlights how members view their collective impact
- A parallel universe without retrospectives - A fun way to reinforce the value of reflection practices
- Your product as a physical object or character - Encourages creative thinking about your work
Tips for a Successful Session
- If the team hesitates to start, add the first mark yourself to break the ice
- For larger teams, consider having members take turns or establish a loose system for contribution
- Observe but don't interfere with the emergent process—the way the team self-organizes is part of what makes this activity valuable
- Keep the session light and fun; emphasize that the final product is less important than the collaborative process
- Use the drawing as a metaphorical reference point later in the meeting if relevant themes emerge
Remember that this activity works as both an energizer and a mirror for team dynamics—the insights gained can naturally flow into your main meeting agenda.
